Jonathan's World

The Old Negative

2010-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

I wonder if we know how much negativity comes out of our mouths. Do you?

Countless times as I’m walking somewhere I overhear something like, “I f***ing lost it on her,” “My truck is crap,” “This phone sucks,” “She pissed me off so bad,” or “She’s full of it, and I’m sick of it and I’m sick of her.” Okay, that last one was me...

But isn’t it okay to be angry at someone? Why? Kinda wasting your time, don’t you think? Maybe act in love? Turn your cheek the proverbial seventy times seven?

Yesterday I started out not talking at all, which I’m sure was frustrating at times for my parents as they tried to decode my hand signals and figure out exactly what their offspring wanted. This continued throughout the day and a little into the evening.

When I started talking again I was amazed at how much negativity comes out of my mouth without me realizing. Mom asked me a question and I immediately started complaining about the drama caused by this one person—and then, as if that wasn’t enough—I started harping on her life choices (and decision to broadcast her troubles on Facebook) as if I was the ultimate judge on the way one should act.

Newsflash: Jonathan, you’re not perfect.

So as it was hammered home to me that I say way too many things that aren’t positive, uplifting, or even kind about and/or to other people, I made a resolution. I couldn’t wait the four months to New Years either, because this is that important. More important than taking in as many episodes of The Office as I can now that I like the show.

Remember as kids when your parents told you, “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” Yeah, it’s still that simple.

So my resolution is to keep my mouth shut. Period.

Yeah, I’ll speak when spoken to and ask questions of people or tell them that funny story they all want to hear. The things you won’t hear me doing is complaining about someone, judging their decisions, being negative about how something is run, etc.

I challenge all of you to do the same!

RESUME

2010-02-06T19:30:00.000-08:00

THEATER:

PERFORMANCE:

YEAR	SHOW	CHARACTER(S)
2004	A Cold Day In Hell*	Tony
	The Beverly Hillbillies*	Mr. Oglethorpe / Fireman
2005	The Gift	Kevin Lossner
2006	As The Stomach Turns*	Politician
	The Sound of Music*	Extra
	Variations On The Death of Trotsky*	Leon Trotsky
	Macbeth Did It*	Duke Marlboro
2007	Hound Of The Baskervilles*	Sherlock Holmes**
	The Importance Of Being Earnest*	Algernon’s Butler
2008	Room 306*	Bell Hop (understudy)
	The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood*	Prince John
2009	TLOJ: Chicken Theory	Harry Morgan
	TLOJ: Joe’s Thanksgiving	Harry Morgan

DIRECTING:

YEAR	SHOW
2005	Untitled
2008	Room 306*
2009	TLOJ: Chicken Theory
	TLOJ: Joe’s Thanksgiving

WRITING:

YEAR	SHOW
2005	Untitled
	A Christmas Crisis (adaptation)
2008	Room 306*
	The Sound Of Freedom (co-writer)
2009	TLOJ: Chicken Theory
	TLOJ: Joe’s Thanksgiving

PRODUCING:

YEAR	SHOW
2005	Untitled (co-producer)
	A Christmas Crisis (co-producer)
2008	Room 306* (co-producer)
	The Sound Of Freedom (co-producer)
2009	TLOJ: Chicken Theory
	TLOJ: Joe’s Thanksgiving

OTHER PRODUCTION ROLES

YEAR	SHOW	PRODUCTION ROLES
2004	The Beverly Hillbillies*	Set Construction
2005	Untitled	Production, Sound, Set & Costume Design / Props / Set Construction
	A Christmas Crisis	Production, Sound & Set Design / Props / Set Construction
	The Gift	Set Construction
2006	The Sound Of Music*	Set Construction
	Macbeth Did It*	Set Construction
2007	Hound Of The Baskervilles*	Set Construction
	The Importance Of Being Earnest*	Set Construction
2008	Room 306*	STAGE MANAGER / Production, Sound, Set & Costume Design / Props
	The Somewhat True Tale Of Robin Hood*	Set Construction
	The Sound Of Freedom	Production, Sound & Set Design / Props
2009	TLOJ: Chicken Theory	Production, Sound, Set & Costume Design / Props
	TLOJ: Joe’s Thanksgiving	Musical Composer / Fight Choreography / Production, Sound, Set & Costume Design / Props / Set Construction

* = Skyline High School Theater Department
** = Acting Award

Stay Strong

2009-12-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

There is a song that has really spoken to me in the past months. The chorus has the line: “Stay strong...you’ve come too far to loose your way.” Loosing one’s way covers a lot of different scenarios. Parts of me wanted to give up—which for me would be loosing my way—but I’m being told to stay strong. “Now, that’s just a song,” you say. Yeah, but God was using the song to speak to me. Not just, “Hey, this lyric makes a lot of sense. I can relate,” no, those were the exact words I needed to hear at the exact time I needed to hear them.

Another line in the first verse says, “You’re in the moment now, when all that you’ve been blessed with is not enough.” At the time, and sometimes still, I’m wondering why God is holding me back. I know he has this awesome plan for my life, but why can’t I just get on with it? Why do I have to wait? Then I heard the song...and had a very interesting conversation with myself. I realized that I was in the moment the song was talking about. All that I had been blessed with wasn’t enough—and I’ve been blessed with A LOT. Why wasn’t it enough?

Simple. I wanted my way—not God’s—which meant I needed to adjust my thinking. The line, “Have you forgotten who you are? Did you forget whose trip you’re on?” caused me to come to that conclusion.

Who am I? Well, that’s simple. I am a Child of God. What’s that mean? A lot of things, but the meaning I needed to realize at the time was God wants the best for me. He wouldn’t put me in a situation where I would go no where.

Whose trip am I on? God’s. There was—and is—a reason I am where I am today. I have to trust that the God who created the universe knows what He’s doing—and He did a pretty good job with the universe.

“Stay strong, you are not lost. Come on, fix your eyes ahead. There’s a new dawn to light our day.”

-JB

Quotes from: “Stay Strong” by “Newsboys”

New Project...maybe

2009-09-28T13:01:00.000-07:00

So as I sit around and consider pushing myself to continue working on "The Life of Joe" an idea that a friend and I have been batting around since 8th grade is starting to morph into a webseries...something which I am somewhat excited about.

Amidst that excitement, however, is a sence of dread. "The Life of Joe" is something I'm putting my heart into. I have invested myself into these characters. Each has their own set of quirks. I don't know what to make of the character's in this new project though. As a co-creator/writer/director for this show it's a given that I need to invest myself in these characters as well if the show is going to work.

I don't want to though.

The main characters aren't that likeable. Yes, this is partly my fault (50% anyway) and I will assume that responsibility.

If I want people to watch this I need to find a way to make them somewhat likeable--give them their own little redeaming qualities without sacrificing what makes the character who they are. My ego is screaming, "Yeah, go for it!!!" The practical part of me is forcing me to realize the amount of time I've put into "The Life of Joe," how far I'm not in getting a season of 12 30 minute episodes scriped, and do I really want to invest myself that much in this new project...

For now...for now I think I'll get back to Joe and the gang while periodically scripting this new show...

-J.B.

Relate

2009-03-16T15:26:00.000-07:00

Winter was fun.

I like the cold weather of winter rather than the warmth of summer for the simple reason that it is easier to get warm than it is to cool off. In cold (or "super-freezing-I-hope-we-don't-die" cold that Colorado sometimes has) one can always put on more clothes whereas in the borderline unbearable heat of Colorado summers taking one's clothes off in an attempt to cool off is frowned upon if you wind up taking too much off.

I like winter over summer.

What does this have to do with the subject of this journal, you may wonder. What does the word "Relate" have to do with me liking winter over summer? Is this how I "relate" to the weather of my fair state?

Sure. Okay, that sounds plausible--well, mostly because it is plausible and even likely--however that is not the reason I chose the word "Relate" as the subject for this entry.

"Relate" is the working title of a script I am currently co-writing with a friend.
But, you may ask, is that really enough to title this entry "Relate" when you focus more on Colorado weather and why you like winter more--as well as asking us why you titled this entry as you did?

Good point. Uh...

Oh yeah! Performance dates have also been scheduled for this piece, so for those of you who are interested "Act One" will be preformed on Wednesday, May 6 -- "Act Two" on Wednesday, May 13 -- "Act Three" on Wednesday, May 20. These performances will be part of the "Word Worship Fellowship" (WWF) connection group at New Creation Church in my fair city of Longmont, Colorado.

Worship is all about God.

2008-11-09T23:27:00.000-08:00

There is a question. I don’t know if it’s “age old” so I can’t really say “it’s an age-old question, but it is a question nonetheless.

That question is: What does it mean to be a Christian?

In these days, “Christian” is whoever claims to be a Christian. True “Christians” are those who faithfully attend Church every Sunday and Wednesday (provided their home Church does Wednesday services).

Is that it? Is that what it mean’s to be “Christian?”

What about a relationship with God?

God created mankind because He wanted a relationship. He walked in the Garden of Eden with Adam and fellowshipped with him before The Fall.

God wants to have a relationship with every single person on this earth and he wants us to WANT to have a relationship with Him. He wants to walk with us and fellowship with us.

But what is that relationship?

In the nineteen years or so that I have been going to Church I have heard and observed different acts that people did to fellowship with God.

To me, it seemed as if I had to do the same if I wanted to fellowship with God yet I had no desire to do any of these things. Questions raced through my head: Am I being a bad Christian? Am I missing it somewhere? Am I doing something wrong?

After some discussion on the matter with my dad, and reading “Plans Purposes Pursuits” by Kenneth E Hagin I realized that I could worship God and fellowship with him in my own way. I didn’t have to pray out a long and drawn out prayer, even if it was the “accepted” way to fellowship. I could just spend time with my God. I could be totally silent and wait for him to speak to me or I could pray for His wisdom.

I could pray for a cowboy hat if I wanted to.

A little before seven tonight (11/09/08) I new I needed to get out of the house so I decided to go hang with my friend Tim. We talked until a quarter to ten then I left.

Now at this point in time God and I had some unresolved business. It wasn’t time for me to go home yet.

Near Tim’s place is a grass field that is often used for city sporting events. At night it is peaceful, the only distraction being the cars on Main a block away.

The next thirty or so minutes I spent on my knees in that park praying to my God. I prayed that He would show me what HE wanted me to do. I prayed that He would guide my life and help me live for him.

I prayed that He would give me peace.

After that I spent somewhere between five and fifteen minutes singing the songs “Heart of Worship” and “Breathe.” Sure, anyone walking by could have heard me singing these songs. Sure my pitch and tone (I think those are the technical terms) were probably off and there was the distinct probability that it didn’t really sound all that great. I didn’t care. I was singing those songs to my SAVIOR, I was singing to my GOD.

When it was time for me to go home, I didn’t stop singing. I didn’t really sing all that quieter either. Anyone near could have heard, and at that point I hoped that they did.

Now on the way home, there is a brown one-storey house that is somewhat shabby and run down. As far as I know, in the past less fortunate people and those with mental illness had lived there.

As I passed this house, a though came into my head. “Why don’t you go tell whoever is home that God loves them?” I even knew someone was home. The lights were on and he was easy to see through the front window. Was this God telling me to do this? I didn’t really know but I wasn’t about to ignore God.

It was about ten forty-seven at night.

Now I’m the kind of person who has to have their comfort zone firmly in place around them. The only time I really step out of it is...well...never.

So instead of going on my merry way like I desperately wanted to do, I walked up to the house and pressed the bell. Seconds later, a man with about a foot of beard and hair opens the door.

“Yeah?” he gruffly asked me.

“I just wanted to tell you that GOD LOVES YOU and He thinks that YOU’RE AWESOME,” I replied.

He responded to me in no uncertain terms: “Well, I think you’re full [of it] and in a couple of years you’re going to find out that there is life from other planets and there is no god.”

I walked away from the house happier that I had walked up to it. I KNOW that THERE IS A GOD. I KNOW that GOD LOVES EVERYONE. I KNOW that if there is life on other planets, GOD LOVES EVERYONE.

A common argument used to persuade a person to do something is, “What’s the worst that could happen?”

The worst that could happen to me when I walked up to that door was not getting the door slammed in my face. The worst was the door not being answered at all. Because that man chose to answer the door when I rang the doorbell, he knows that there is at least one person out there who believes that GOD LOVES HIM and that GOD THINKS HE IS AWESOME.

My middle name, “David” means “Beloved.” My name is a constant reminder to me that I am God’s beloved. Not everyone has that reminder.

When you worship, it’s all about Jesus. It’s all about your relationship with God. I realized that tonight. When I walked away from the brown house I was happy because it wasn’t about me. It was about God’s love. It was about letting the world know about God’s love. It was about worshipping God by letting others know of his love.

So what does it mean to be a “Christian?”

Being a Christian is all about worshiping God.

Remember: GOD LOVES YOU and YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD.

[John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.]

Zombies

2008-08-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

General Update:

Work on the screenplay for the zombie flick produced and directed by myself and Tim Munnerlyn will resume this Tuesday (5/19/08). The script, tentatively titled "Survival," was put on hold sometime this last year because of budget and casting issues.

Work on the LakeBaldwin Entertainment triple feature as well as my Internet Sitcom “The Life of Joe” will begin before any serious production is even considered for this project but it is something to look forward to mid to late 2010 (tentatively).

For those looking forward to this project (that actually read my blog, anyway) I am sorry that it has taken so long to publish news or even resume work on the project.

J. Baldwin
JB Media
Contact:
jonathanbaldwinmedia@gmail.com
or
lakebaldwinentertainment@gmail.com
for more information.

My totally awesome camping trip...Totally...

2008-07-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

I got back from camping Wednesday. Camping is AWESOME!!! I could go on and on about it but I won’t.

For those who don’t know yet, I now know how Robinson Caruso felt…sort of. The lake our campsite was on had a smattering of small islands in the middle of it. Well, myself and a friend decided we wanted to go fishing and that one of these islands would be the perfect spot to fish off of. So we rowed over to it, got out of our boat, tied the boat to a rock, and started to fish. It was fun until I hear my friend exclaim, “Oh, crap.”

“Oh, crap” is never good.

So I look up and I see the boat being taken away from the island by the current. Away from us. So I’m about to jump in the water and go after it when my friend opens his mouth again and tells me, “No need to go to last resort yet.”

So I waited.

We waved and yelled at as many people as we possibly could. We laughed at ourselves…a lot. It was really funny to us; how could we possibly loose the boat.

Well, eventually a man and his son who were out fishing saw us waving as well as the boat floating away from us and rowed out to it to bring it back to us.

While we were waiting we laughed at ourselves some more. If laughter adds years onto your life, my friend and I are going to live to be at least 150 just because of this experience.

Well we got the boat back and told the nice gentleman and his son “thank you” for bringing us our boat back and what idiots we had been (in our defense, we had tied the boat up pretty good). The only response we got was, “You’re lucky we were still out.” He promptly turned his boat around and rowed back to shore. We decided to do the same.

On the way back to camp, I got curious what the temperature of the water was in case I had had to swim after the boat. It was a good 20 degrees warmer than the wind. I suddenly wished I had swum after it…partly because I hadn’t had a shower in a good three days.

When we got back to camp we were told by our friend Bill, who is also the Pastoral Care Pastor at our Church, that he sent his grandson (who is eight) out to get us because dinner was ready. When said grandkid had come running back to camp and said, “Papa, papa. Jonathan and Lyndon are on the island and the boat is out in the middle of the lake,” Bill naturally thought he was joking around. However upon his grandson’s insistence, he went to go look and found out that we were indeed, stranded.

This was by far the best camping experience I have ever had…until next year anyway…cause if the boat floats away I am swimming after it!!!

The High Life

2008-06-21T15:10:00.000-07:00

I've heard everything they've taught us in science class about how drugs are bad for you. I happen to believe them. However, that didn't scare me away from drugs. The reason I'm not a user is simple: I chose not to.

One of my greatest joys in life is being coherent. I really like knowing what's going on around me. I really don’t want to have someone walk up to me and say, “Hey, Jonathan, what’s up with you?” and respond, “I’ve decided what I’m going to do with my life. I’m going to travel to the moon. I’ve done my research and I’ve discovered that the moon is 200 miles away from the earth (it isn’t) and that would be something that I’d be good at. The moon is really pretty, don’t you think?”

Unfortunately this somewhat mirrors a conversation I had with a friend who had downed two and a quarter bottles of cough syrup approximately seven hours previous and had had intermittent intervals of sleep (I was told they dosed at 11pm and the conversation took place around 6am the next morning). This experience, if I had not already decided that drug use wasn’t something I was going to “experiment with,” would have definitely turned me off of the idea.

To tell the truth, it was sad.

The whole time they were coming down off of the high and semi-coherent because of it (bear in mind the approximate seven hours that had passed and my lack of knowledge concerning the effects of drug use) he kept repeating, “Don’t ever do this shit, man. It will fuck you up.”

Yeah, buddy, I noticed. You’re fucked up.

When they said this, I wondered, were they having moments of rational thought amidst what had to be a severely clouded thought process? Did they truly realize what they had done wasn’t good for their mental process or their health? Or were they just realizing how much trouble they were going to be in when their parents inevitably found out and were hoping to gain some brownie points with me.

I’m choosing to believe that these were rational thoughts. I’m choosing to think that my friend wants the best for me like I want the best for them.

Why do people take drugs? Is it the escape? Is it the knowledge that you won’t be forced to deal with anything? Do you feel alone and want someone to love you? Why do you do this to yourself? What is so bad that you would risk your life (read: overdosing) to escape it?

Whenever I am facing a tough situation or having a rough day/week/month I find that the best thing for me to do is be patient. Wait. Don’t do anything or say anything. The situation usually works itself out.

A common excuse for drug abuse is, “You just don’t know what I’m going through.” You’re right; I don’t know what you’re going through. But I’m fairly certain that there’s something else that you can do to distract you from your troubles other than use narcotics to alter your state of consciousness. I recommend a good movie. “She’s the Man,” “Step Up,” “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” and “Death Proof” are a few suggestions.

I take pleasure in a lot of things. Like writing. I like to write. I always have some new plot line going through my head. But writing is also an escape for me. I write when I’m upset, when I’m having a bad day, when I’m so pissed at someone I want to tear their head of and throw it…somewhere…

Find something that you enjoy doing (aside from any kind of narcotic). Do it. Have fun doing it. But don’t go get wasted. That’s such a…waste.

Life of Joe

2008-06-19T19:45:00.000-07:00

I've completed the rough draft of a script called "The Life of Joe." What is "The Life of Joe?" you may wonder.

"The Life of Joe" is about a guy just out of highschool who rooms with his friend Harry and has dinner at his parents house at least three nights a week. He works, along with afore mentioned Harry, at a local coffee shop where he pines over Jennifer, a costomer who always orders a half caff mocha cappuccino. Joe spends his spare time writing about Brad Bloom, his P.I. alter ego, and the many adventures and catastrophies he manages to get himself into.

To read the script go to http://jbmedia.deviantart.com/art/The-Life-of-Joe-89152599

My hope is to make "The Life of Joe" into a webseries. Yeah, a webseries. Unlike normal TV, the good shows aren't canceled, the bad shows can just be ignored, and hey, you don't have to put up with comercials. How cool is that?

I've run across some good webseries so far. "Cataclysmo" from "Webserials.com," "Life from the Inside" from KATR Pictures, and "Pink: The Series."

Now do I think I can live up to these webseries or any others already in existance? Sure. Not right away, though. And to be truthfull, that's not really my ultimate goal. My goal is to get together with a bunch of friends and have fun making a webseries.

Distribution is another concern, right? How am I going to get my webseries to the masses? Two words, dear readers: You Tube.