Joe's Journal - As it used to exist

If you read that link, you now know that I merged my old blog – Joe’s Journal – with the one that you’re reading – JerseySmarts.com. One year ago today, that merger was complete. I think the results have been great, but you could probably be the judge of that better than I can…

One of my favorite parts of the old Joe’s Journal was that crazy header that I put together by blending all of the different things that crossed my mind at the moment. You might be able to tell from that screenshot, but there are a whole bunch of different things on there including the Monmouth University hawk, Stewie from an early episode of Family Guy, the Arrested Development television show’s logo, a Cross, the American flag, my fraternity’s flag, a Lord of the Rings logo, a Smallville logo, a silhouette of New Jersey, a Rutgers University logo, and a bunch of other stuff. Plus, the main color of the site was yellow.

In general, I never hate on any of my old sites and Joe’s Journal is no different. I really enjoyed that blog since it was my personal blog where I let off steam and commented on a variety of issues (the entries have all been merged into this site, so go back a few years and look at some of the older posts – lots of bitching in there!). However, as I began to enterprise my web design skills and I began creating newer websites with stronger capabilities and better marketing opportunities, I realized that I had to begin eliminating duplication in those areas of my life where it was unsustainable and, really, unnecessary.

On that point, a few years ago I opened up JerseySmarts.com as a place where I could capture some of the writing skills of my friends from college and other people that I’ve met along the way. It never really panned out the way I wanted it to, but that’s okay. Since JerseySmarts.com became a viable source of revenue, I wound up keeping the domain and just uploading my Joe’s Journal entries onto both blogs. It was easy, but pretty laborious in the grand scheme of things. I never wanted to engage in larger marketing campaigns or new ways to present content because I didn’t want to have to duplicate everything. Plus, I felt like the impact of my entries was being thinned since they were available in two locations.

The logical answer was to merge the two blogs and condense my efforts to create a single website with greater impact. I think that I’ve been pretty successful in that effort considering that JerseySmarts.com is both profitable and has a wide readership. Since the merger, I’ve admittedly held back on publicizing the blog to the extent that I originally intended and part of that was because I wanted to ensure that I had the commitment to keep the thing updated. With that, I’m glad to announce that today marks one full year of this blog being updated every single day. In 365 days JerseySmarts.com has had more than 365 entries. I think that’s a pretty significant accomplishment for a one-man show. One of the ways that I accomplished this was taking advantage of the ability to “schedule” a post in WordPress. For example, I wrote all of the entries for November 1st through November 16th (that’s today) on Halloween. Hey, I had the free time while sitting around waiting for trick or treaters, so I wanted to use it productively! I can’t guarantee that I’ll be updating the blog on a daily basis for the coming year, so I might miss a day here and a day there, but I made it work in the last year so I might be able to keep the momentum going in the coming year!

If I had my way, I’d get more people to sign-up for the monthly newsletter in the next year and I’d utilize that newsletter for more than just a recap of previous entries. I think that goal is attainable, but not when the newsletter stands at 26 subscribers. Last month I started a new Google Group which replaced the old newsletter system that I’ve been using for the last year. Let’s hope that it has some staying power, huh?

Anyway, we’re one year into this merger and I think it’s going great. Let me know what you think!

Some examples of the stereotypes…

FOX canceled Back to You – the news sitcom starring Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. They put SO much promotional resources behind this show that you have to wonder if someone at FOX is finally going to get canned for wasting so much money. But this is FOX’s way – they start a show, give it two or three seasons (just enough time to build up a core fan base), and then dump the show. Idiots.

Then you have the brain trust at CBS who decided to cancel Jericho – again. If I’m not mistaken, CBS canceled Jericho last season and then was forced to bring the series back after tons of fan outrage. Hey, if that works, then I wonder why Arrested Development hasn’t been brought back by FOX yet!

Our friends at ABC canceled the Cavemen show. You know – the show based off of Geico’s advertising campaign. What a completely stupid…and I mean absolutely dumb…basis for a television show. ABC is only saved this time around because they are acquiring Scrubs from NBC. If you haven’t watched Scrubs, then you have to give it a shot. Lots of humor on that show.

The CW, which may have more problems that they’re not letting on about, gave up on WWE Smackdown! which will certainly go down as the dumbest move in this company’s short history. Why a dumb move? It’s the number one show on the network! I’m glad, though, that they’re bringing Smallville back for another season, but I’d like to see how they move that storyline along without Lex Luthor – especially in light of the large role he played in the season finale last night.

NBC is dropping 1 vs. 100, The Singing Bee, and My Dad is Better Than Your Dad. Good grief! Who gets fired for approving these shows in the first place – really? Alright, so 1 vs. 100 had some potential, but the game show scene is way over saturated right now.

Anyway, I guess there is still a chance that some of these shows will be brought back, but it’s doubtful.

Anyway, before this show was cancelled it was one of the most critically-acclaimed sitcoms in the last ten years – matching even Seinfeld’s early hysteria and cult fan base. After watching the first season (again), it’s easy to see why.

This show is absolutely hilarious! From Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter) and her snide remarks to all of her children to George Michael Bluth (Michael Cera) and his confusion over whether or not to pursue a relationship with his cousin – it all just falls into place perfectly. As I wrote earlier on this blog, there are some people that watch the show and go, “I don’t get it.” My suspicion is that some dingbat at FOX had that reaction after watching the first show and then just said, “Cancel it.” However, after you watch the first two or three episodes, you “get” what is going on and it’s absolutely brilliant to watch.

The camera work for the show is also great as is the show’s use of the same flashback clips throughout the entire season (this carries into the second season, too).

Arrested Development’s basic story is the story of a rich, privileged family who literally has it all, but loses it when the family patriarch is sent to prison during his retirement party. The problem? Well, besides squandering company funds, there is a chance he may have “committed some light treason” by building housing developments in Iraq. The timeliness of this show (at the time it was aired) is unbeatable, but that’s another story. The plot is made all the better by the fact that the entire family is completely clueless and oblivious to everyday life.

What holds them all together? That would be the prodigal son, Michael Bluth.

Michael, who is masterfully played by Jason Bateman of 1980’s/1990’s sitcom “The Hogan Family,” is the glue that holds the family together as they are subjected to a federal probe. On top of that chore, he also is trying to raise his son, George Michael Bluth, better than he was raised by his father. While he is generally a good father, it’s fun to see him stumble over his words every once in a while and to watch him completely ignore some of his son’s most basic wants and needs.

The story works so well because it is written so well. Without the amazing writing, the show could really fall apart. Again, it’s a shame that this award-winning show was taken off of television too early, but that’s the history of FOX and TV shows that the fans and critics both love. Why couldn’t they put this show on FX? Lord knows it would have been the best show on the entire channel! Eh, I digress.

I highly suggest going out and buying the first season of Arrested Development. Yes, buy it and don’t rent it because I guarantee that once you “get” what is going on, you’ll want to watch the series over and over again.

What the fuck was that idiot doing?!

This is, by far, the funniest show to come across FOX TV in the last 15 years! Between Jason Bateman, Jessica Walter, Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett – I mean the entire cast is incredible! Sure, I understand that some people watch the show and say, “I don’t get it.” But that’s the beauty of watching the first few episodes. Once you “get it,” the show becomes one of the best things on television!

I think that my two favorite characters are Jessica Walter’s “Lucille Bluth” and Michael Cera’s “George-Michael Bluth.” They’re both hilarious because of the side remarks that they make all of the time. From Lucille’s “not for you” when walking by her extremely skinny daughter when she’s in front of food to George Michael’s constantly trying to correct whoever is talking to him while laughing through his words, it’s fucking brilliant.

And since it seems from this article that the show is as good as done with no chance of the creator coming back to series, let’s hope that at least the moron who cancelled the show get fired and shunned from the television industry.