Jon's Corner at PDXposed

2009-08-23T18:02:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I'm doing the Twitter "PDXposedJon" and Facebook "JonOlson" gig now, so my blog has suffered. Haven't heard any complaints, so I guess it's ok? We are super excited for our move to Fox in 3 weeks and our new shows are looking very good! Our Lincoln City and Maui shows will rock! Had a killer time last night filming a super cool band from Port Angeles, WA - Lonely H! Off to Vegas this Thursday to see some of my best friends on the planet - our yearly convergence on Sin City for our Fantasy Football draft! I'm definitely ready for some football!

Cheers and as always, Make Good Memories!
Jon

2009-06-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

See Twitter............ PDXposedJon is my twitter name. It's blogging but I don't get in as much trouble, can't say too much. I will tell you that PDXposed is moving to FOX in September - a great fit. More on Twitter.

Aloha from Honolulu!

Make good memories~
jon

2009-05-22T02:13:00.001-07:00

Aloha. It's been a long time because I only get in trouble with this damn blog. I say too much or I don't say enough. So this is short and sweet. Things are good. I've just wrapped up our O'ahu shoot (airing July 4) and I'm gonna kick it here another week and work my ass off to make more Hawaii shit happen.

Out.

Make Good Memories.

Jon

2009-04-26T11:25:00.001-07:00

Can you believe it, a massive snow storm in Rapid City on April 25th?! Believe it! It's not the first time and the Black Hills area has had record snow fall this year. It's pretty but also kinda sucks. A lot of my family is sick so I haven't seen half of the gang, adding too the suckiness. BUT........it's great to be home and spend time with my loved ones too. Monday and Tuesday, I have meetings to discuss additional SoDak. video projects, which would be great for our production company. We'll focus on a few golf courses and the areas and activities around them, and possibly some of the area's larger national and international golf tournaments. We'll see!?

We're still reeling with excitement after the OR Gov. Conference on Tourism. There is so much positive energy around PDXposed and the messaging we're creating for communities. People just can't afford to pay high agency prices for average results, as in the past. PDXposed and more importantly, The Digital Studio, can offer top quality production at very reasonable prices. We can do much more than just TV too -- radio, print, billboards, etc. I'll give you a great example of high agency pricing. Last year when we got the SD video project, their own IN HOUSE video production company couldn't do the project for what we could do it for. It would have cost them more to hire their own people. We have low overhead so we can underbid most everybody, while at the same time we can make money. Most importantly, we deliver superior results. The goal for anybody with a marketing/promotional campaign is MEASURABLE RESULTS, which we are also delivering. People are watching our shows, getting in their cars and traveling to these communities to experience what we showed them. I'm not just telling you this, it's happening. We hear it from Newport, Lincoln City, Seaside, Astoria, etc... Even Japan! We look forward to putting more $$'s into local area communities this year, especially with our struggling economy. It means a lot to us that we can help and we'll continue to make that one of our missions.

You can expect to see us focus more locally (OR/SW WA) for PDXposed and our production company will continue to branch out in my home state of SD and of course, in Hawaii. They need more help with tourism than any other state in the country and again, with our value and quality, who better to assist them with video than us!? And yes, it's a pretty damn nice place to film, and yes, Mary is there. You "feel me" I'm sure.

LOVE the Seahawks draft picks, only two on the first day, but both should be impact players. I sucked it up and bought my season tickets again this year. My seats rock (see pic) so I had no choice. It's one of my guilty pleasures in life and I just don't want to give that up. Plus, we might be striking a mutually-beneficial deal with SeaPort Airlines which might mean some trade (=flights to Boeing Field/Seattle!!), so it might make it even more convenient to get to Seattle for the games.

Speaking of games, time to tune back in to the NFL Draft and get ready to cheers on the Blazers tonight. My best from the winter wonderland known as Rapid City, South Dakota!

Make good memories this weekend!

Jon

2009-04-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

OK Lucy!! I promised you I'd make a blog entry today and it's not too late. Just to prove to you that I'm a man of my word and a good friend, I'm writing this especially for you! The BLAZERS JUST WON and we filmed the game from a suite, which was awesome. What a day, starting early in Salem for the Oregon Governor's Conference on Tourism and ending with a crazy, exciting Blazer win!

Sean and I had a blast at the conference and we're very glad we attended. The attendees were exactly whom we need to focus on this year and we have something very good to offer them -- affordable and measurable television advertising/marketing. That's what we do! We just received our 5th and 6th Emmy nominations, so clearly our peers are valuing the quality of what we do and it was fun to see our customers telling others at the conference that they should work with us. As you can see from the show, we DO HAVE FUN but we take our job seriously as well and it pleases us greatly to hear the communities we've featured say that we are definitely driving tourism to their towns/cities!

I'm finally going home to see my family in South Dakota this weekend, haven't been home since last September when we did all those Black Hills videos, which you can view at www.youtube.com/blackhillstourism . It is always good to see my family and I miss my nieces and nephews and of course my siblings and my parents. I do have a pretty damn cool family if I do say so myself.

And yes, you guessed it, we're filming in Hawaii again in 3 weeks. I met Mary one year ago from May 8th, and I'll be there with her on that day to celebrate. Neither of us had any clue we'd be dating at this point, from 2,500 miles away -- not the plan. But, it worked out that way and I'm excited to see her and her precious little ones in a couple weeks. The crew comes over on May 13 and will leave the 20th. I come back on the 24th. I'm working on some "other projects" in Hawaii, so we'll see where that might go.

Time to chill in front of the boob tube, a term not used much since my childhood when my mother said it often. I'm exhausted, but I promised dear Lucy that I'd update my blog, so this one's for you baby! GREAT seeing you and everybody at the conference this week. We're excited for the future of PDXposed "Xposing" more of what our great state of Oregon has to offer. Oh and the photos are from the Blazer Pep Rally in Pioneer Square last week, total pandemonium and a blast. The second one is thanks to my new I Phone App, which I'm learning more and more about (pretty cool stuff)! Ok, nighty night!

Make good memories, always!

Jon

2009-03-29T18:23:00.000-07:00

Hello again! We had a different type of show air Saturday night, a special KGW Home & Garden show and it confused a few of you. Sorry for that. We should have let you know that this wouldn't be our standard PDXposed episode but we're so darn busy that we just didn't think of it. Being a home & garden show only, it was a hit with some of the "moms" in our fan base, but some of the men were questioning it. Next time we do a "special KGW show" we'll let you know in advance, so please know that.

We are planning at least one very fun OR Wine Country show very soon and today I met with the marketing studdess of Domaine Serene to get the ball rolling. She's excited to make this happen and we're eager to tell their intriguing story. We did a few wine country shows awhile back and we love to film them. We may just do another hot air balloon ride over wine country at sunrise again -- so cool!

We appreciate your viewership and just so you know, our next NEW show will air on 4/25. It's our Classic Wines Auction show and I just viewed the raw version of the finished show and it will be good. It will be a little different, considering that it's a show all about the event itself and all the people that come together to make it happen, but trust me that you'll be entertained. The event raised over $2.2M in one night so it was a smashing success!

Thanks as always, for watching, and I hope you all had a great weekend!

Make good memories~
Jon

ps.........Precious little Chloie's face says it all.........what to do about this economy?!

2009-03-21T23:45:00.000-07:00

This was a strange day. Why? Because it was my first bona fide day off in a very long time. No cameras, no microphones, no interviews, no big band shows, no crew (with the exception of spending some time with Sean and Mindy at their house, post knee surgery - Sean is my Field Producer). It was a nice day, starting off with a SKYPE call with Mary and her kids. If you haven't heard of Skype yet, it's the coolest and FREE service where you can chat live with anybody, computer to computer (as long as you have a video port) and you can see the people you are talking to. So if you have friends anywhere in the world, I strongly suggest you jump on board the Skype train. It takes about 5 minutes to download and again, it's FREE! So cool!

We had a very successful, yet uber busy shoot on the Big Island, or the Island of Hawaii, as the BIVB would prefer us to say. We were there to feature the Kona Brewers Festival, which was a hoot! Ran into some people from Portland, including Christian who owns a micro brewery in SE, HUB I think? Anyway, they had a "Trash Fashion Show" which you'll definitely want to check out when it airs on PDXposed on May 2! We also filmed Hawaii's most visited tourist attraction, Mt. Kilauea, the world's most active volcano and many other fun things. Aston Hotels & Resorts put us up in two bedroom condos overlooking the Waikaloa Beach Golf Course. Mine was a sweet pad and I had Mary and her girls and friend Brenda come over to share the wealth. It was one big happy family! Mary and Brenda fed us well, which we needed after long days of shooting. We truly had no down time and this week was super busy, so you can see why tonight, a Saturday night in Portland, I stayed in and I'm blogging. You might say, "boring" but I say, I needed it!

On Monday, I go to Tahoe for a much-needed ski vacation. They are my very favorite type of vacation and I've not been skiing yet this season, so I'm excited. I fly to Reno to meet Mary and her son Charles and we'll drive up together to meet another couple from Hawaii and their daughter. They are fun so I'm sure we'll have a great time. Yes, this is a good month for spending time with my hottie and better yet, she'll be in Portland for my next big band gig on April 11th. It's almost sold out already so if you want to go, I suggest you book a reservation at Tony Starlight's asap! Last night was sold out and they turned people away!

The photo above is our trip moment! We had a FAST FACT to shoot which relates to the Island of Hawaii having 11 of the world's 13 climate zones, and includes the snow topped mountain in the pic. We had to race the clouds, literally, to get the shot and Mike, Sean and I had to operate like a fine-tuned machine to get the shot. Each of us had to perfectly execute our part or the clouds would have swooned in, within like 5 seconds, and WE DID IT! It was very energy charged and when we got in the car, the song playing on the radio was "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky. We laughed our asses off and celebrated our "moment" in time. We knew this would be our trip moment! And it was. Ok, I'm adding my golf villa that Aston put me in too!

Ok, it's time to Skype with Honolulu! Hope you all had a nice weekend and I hope you keep watching PDXposed and giving us our killer ratings! THANK YOU!

Make good memories!

Jon

2009-03-05T21:44:00.000-08:00

WOW! What a day! We're filming a show featuring the Classic Wine Auction, the largest single day/night fundraiser for Portland at the Convention Center this Saturday. Last year, they raised $3.3 million at the event! So....we're doing a "behind the scenes" of what it takes to put such an event on, and featuring several entities involved in the charitable party. Today, we took a stretch limo, courtesy of Lucky Limousine, to the #1 Pinot Noir winery in Oregon (in the world for that matter), Domaine Serene, located just outside of Dundee. We met the owner, Grace Evenstad, a lovely and very sophisticated lady, and she told us the story of how it all came about and that her passion and focus has always been to make the best Pinot Noir in the world. Mission accomplished, Grace!

We were with one of the Co-executive Chefs for the event, David Machado, owner of two very hip and trendy Portland restaurants -- Lauro Kitchen in SE (2006 Restaurant of the Year) and Vindalho, also in SE Portland (named one of America's Best Restaurants by Gourmet Magazine)>What a fun and cool guy. His buddy Jesus Cibrian is coming up from Phoenix to assist him and I'm 100% certain these two gents will pull this years celebration off without a hitch. I can't say the same for last year's event, which the CWA people recognize, which is the reason they're bringing in the heavy hitters this year. David and my crew and I took the limo from Domaine Serene to a magical chocolate shop just off of NW Burnside and 16th, SAHAGUN, pronounced "sawgoon." The two beautiful ladies running this small business had us guys salivating for their chocolates. They will be doing the dessert portion of the menu Saturday night.

Time to pack for another trip to Hawaii, this time to film on the Big Island or as they prefer it to be called in the show - the Island of Hawaii. I've never had to fill out more liability waivers and contracts, though I'm sure it will be worth it. Our flight leaves at 7am Monday morning and we get into Kona around noon their time, 3pm our time. We start filming right away. In fact (go figure) one of the first things we're filming is the Kona Brewery, which has a tight Oregon connection. They are one of the most successful micro breweries around and Widmer Bros. brews their beer on the mainland, right here in Portland. Nothing better than starting our trip off with a nice, cold beer (much like our day started off today, with a nice Pinot Noir at 10:30am!!). No we don't drink all the time and no we didn't drink all day, so just settle down!

I've been taping LOST and it's time to catch up, just wanted to drop in with a quick blog blast to say all is well in our world. How's it in yours? "How's it" is what they say in Hawaii and I......like......it!

Make good memories, along with us at PDXposed!

Jon

2009-02-22T16:27:00.000-08:00

What's happenin friends? What a treat to have a weekend in town. I forgot what to do with myself, having a full weekend to myself. Of course, we had shoots both nights but it was pretty casual. Last night, we filmed a local jazz legend, Alan Jones and his sextet at a new jazz club, The Cave. It was PACKED and it was difficult for my crew to shoot but we're pros so we made it work. The Green Onion restaurant is above The Cave (all in a house!) and if you like Persian food, you gotta check this place out. Me........not so much a fan but it was also packed and the owner is a very fun and sweet Persian lady, Sousan.

I'm heading to O'ahu Wednesday to see Mary and her kids, and to work on the next O'ahu show. It's been kind of cold and rainy here this weekend so Honolulu sounds pretty damn good about now. Our next show there will be much more entertaining, less hotel focus, more activity, like swimming with dolphins! I've never done that and have always wanted to. I hear all the time, "You have the best job." People always ask how we determine our content, what to film, and honestly, here it is.........we decide what we WANT to do, and we contact those who offer these services and we book the shoot. The world is our playground and we have fun doing it, as you may have seen in last night's show from Kaua'i. This was the first time, since I've been on TV, that I had my actual girlfriend playing my girlfriend on the show. Mary is all over the show! She doesn't think she looks good and of course, I disagree!

We are working on a NEW SHOW that is being pitched to The Travel Channel this week. I can't say more than that, other than it is a travel show (duh!) and it's a perfect show for today's economic situation worldwide. IF they dig it, which we expect they will, we may start shooting in exotic worldwide destinations as soon as May. Yes, we'll still be filming PDXposed too. Our contract with KGW expires on September 1, so we'll see what happens between then and now. We'd like to continue on KGW as our ratings have been outstanding so I guess we'll just see what happens. We have options, which is always good.

Gonna tune in to the Blazer game and hit the gym. This is the first time in years that I actually care about the Blazer games. They are a lot of fun to watch. I had to put the photo of Alexis and Erika up as it's too damn cute to not show you all. It was taken yesterday at the beach. Have a good week. I'll try to check in from Hawaii!

Make good memories!
Jon

2009-02-16T00:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm sitting here in my hotel room in Newport, sipping on a Miller Lite. What the F? I know! Heather and her hubby Ryan drink M Lite and when we got here Friday, we made a bev/snack run, standard procedure, and she said that's what they like. They had ONE beer the entire weekend out of the 18 pack so we got stuck with it after they left today. Wutever Heather!

It was honestly great to have her and Ryan along with us, had a blast with them. Ryan actually makes his PDXposed debut on this show, which airs on May 2. Newport is a lot of fun and we had some good times, let me tell you. Heather has only ridden a bike 4 times in her live and today we had her ride, or at least ACT like she was riding with me to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, one of Oregon's finest and most beautiful! We had lots of laughs but none better than her tee off on Hole 1 of the Agate Beach Golf Course where she drove her first ball into the hub cap of one of the carts, located about 20 yards BEHIND her! It was frickin hilarious and I only hope we captured it on video.

Two weekends in a row at the Oregon Coast, starting to feel like we live here and why not! This place rocks. If you haven't bee to the stunning Oregon Coast lately, what are you waiting for? Get off your a$$ and get on it! There are SO many fun things to do and we definitely had fun in both places, as you will soon see on the show!

Well, I'm tired but felt inspired to scribe to all 3 of you who read this. Thanks for tuning in and as always, MAKE GOOD MEMORIES!

Jon

2009-02-11T18:23:00.001-08:00

Jon Olson Hosting Demo Reel from PDXposed TV on Vimeo.

2009-02-09T18:17:00.001-08:00

I swear that I care about you readers, but I've been super busy, traveling and shooting. Since I last blogged, I've been back and forth to Hawaii to do some work and see Mary and the cuties and we just returned from a great weekend in Lincoln City. The motto for LC is "A great place to try new things." Boy is this the truth.

I've been to Lincoln City many times but on this trip, we tried tons of new things and this show will probably be the most unique show, full of wildly different segments, we've ever done. In one day, I cooked up some home style fried chicken and biscuits with a chef from South Carolina, went stand-up paddleboarding (the hottest water sport in the world right now due to the fact that anybody can do it!!), went foraging on the beach with Lee Gray, the Wild Gourmet (holy sh%t, what I ate -- you'll see!!), and finished the day at the #1 live music venue on the Oregon Coast, the Roadhouse 101. They are also a very good restaurant and we really appreciated their hospitality (see the picture). The band was Portland's own, the Strange Tones and they ROCKED! We have heard tons of bands on the show as you know and we were pleasantly surprised by the Pulp Fiction, Crimeabilly style of the Strange Tones - tons of fun!

This weekend, we'll be filming our second episode in Newport, focusing this time on romance and girlfriend getaways. You might be asking, "How are you, Jon, going to pull off a girlfriend getaway segment?" My answer is....I'm not! Heather is joining us again and she'll be joined by Sunny from the Newport Chamber for that "stuff." Yay!! I get a break and we're happy to include Heather again! We miss her. We're also heavy into planning for next months Classic Wine Auction show (should be fancy!!) and our Island of Hawaii trip (March 9-16), so you can see that I'm not lying when I say that we're busy. Things will slow down a bit in April, at least it appears that way for now. That can and likely will change :)!

Have a great week and as always,

Make Good Memories!

Jon

2009-01-24T16:25:00.000-08:00

Aloha! We've just returned from filming a show full of adventure, romance and soul rejuvenation on KAUA'I!! What a magical island and what a great time we had. We got to zipline which is one of the most exhilarating and fun things I've ever done. It's right up there with jumping out of an airplane. Oh, and please "don't be that guy" that says............"Why would I want to jump out of a perfectly good airplane?" That saying is getting old and I'll tell you why........... because it kicks ass, that's why! We also kayaked and went mountain tubing! For the first half of our trip, ResortQuest (our hotel sponsor) put us up in a 5,000 sq. ft. plantation home! We were staying on a converted sugar plantation, right on the Pacific, so cool!! Mary joined us for the trip so that was a lot of fun, to have her join us on all of our adventure, and romance :)!

It was very disappointing, however, to come home to the shitstorm related to Sam Adams. I will not condone what he did, as I feel it was inappropriate. HOWEVER, if the facts are correct, it was not illegal and let us not forget all the wonderful things he has done for our beloved City of Portland!! We elected him in a landslide, for a reason. We all know he is the best person for the job. And to all of you who say, "But he lied." ----- EVERY single one of us has lied in our lives to protect something we did or somebody we care about. Every one of us! Hypocrisy is my #1 pet peeve and it's running rampant in Portland these days. I'm very disappointed and I hope Sam stays in office. He's a good man and I'm 100% behind him (don't take that the wrong way :)!

Mike and I shot promos for the next couple shows today and it's coollllllldddddd. It even flurried a bit and tomorrow, we may get a freezing rain mix??? NO!!!!!!!! Hawaii..........I miss you! I'll be back for a week in February to work on another O'ahu show and in March, we'll be filming on the Big Island (Kona Brewers Festival), so that should be fun. Gotta dig all that ALOHA SPIRIT over there. Believe me, it's alive and well and you can actually FEEL IT when you're there.

For now........it's Portland time and I'm off to the gym, then to two fun parties, should be an eventful night. Thanks for tuning in. Have a great weekend!

Make Good Memories!

Jon

2009-01-12T15:45:00.000-08:00

Jon Olson Hosting Demo Reel from PDXposed TV on Vimeo.

Happy Monday. The above link it to my newly updated demo which we are sending out to various professionals in the industry for all the reasons you might imagine. We completed it a couple weeks ago and several have seen it by now. So far, the feedback has been good. Thank God for Josh, what an editor! He did an amazing job, as always, and I'm thankful to have him on the team. The show looks as good as it does on KGW because of his technical expertise and of course Mike and Josh's camera work! I couldn't do any of this without them and the others that help out.

Speaking of............Josh, Mike, Sean and I will be heading to Kaua'i tomorrow morning for a week. We can only bring four, so Jules can't make it again. Sean is SO effective as our Field Producer and he also has production skills so having him there is like having two people, which is highly valuable. He and I met with KGW Friday night and had a great meeting with the Sales Manager, Cortlandt. We feel that there is much more that we can both be doing "together" in 2009 and that is the goal. The economy is challenging, true, BUT............there are still many viable opportunities for us both to create content and income.

We filmed the Blazer game on Saturday night and our angle is the local musicians being incorporated into the Blazer games. They invited local artists to come up with there own rendition of the Blazer theme song and it has been very cool and successful. We love sports and our local music scene so this is a perfect fit for PDXposed! The atmosphere in the Rose Garden was ELECTRIC and I've not seen such energy for a Blazer game in about 10 years. I highly recommend you check it out! It was cool because we got to see our buddies from Western Aerial up on the jumbo tron, playing the Blazer theme, and then we went to a local club to film them as our band segment for this episode. The segments will air in February and it should be a great show!

Just wanted to drop by the blogger and say hello and ALOHA! Yes, it's back to Hawaii for myself and the crew. And yes, it comes at a very good time after all the "lovely weather" we've been having. I'm ready for my "lei greeting"!

Make good memories!

Jon

2009-01-06T16:46:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009! Yes, I'm still alive and kicking and actually had a pretty mellow Holiday Season. I didn't make it home to South Dakota for the holidays due to the worst snow storm in over 30 years. Man, this town shuts down when it snows but I must admit, this time it was pretty crazy. I actually had to put on my Sapporo snow boots, with the specialized rubber on the soles. Between their special rubber which is also used on their snow tires (chains and studs are illegal) and their fog free mirrors in the hotel rooms, the Japanese have some pretty cool and smart stuff. WHY don't we have that technology? Why is it not shared?

We are off to Kaua'i one week from today, which will be a welcome change for the crew. We have some very cool activities planned, like ziplining, kayaking in a beautiful gorge, hiking, and of course other fun evening activities. No jumping from lillypad to lillypad but we'll be having fun, as always. More travel shows are planned for 2009, more than actual Portland shows, but if you've read this blog in the past, you know why.

Just completed my demo, which I'll get posted on this blog shortly, and will be sending it out with high hopes for some big work in 2009. I'm ready to take some bigger steps! I wish you all a very successful, healthy and happy 2009. We'll chat soon!

Make good memories!

Jon

2008-12-07T20:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays everybody. I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Mine was very nice and completely chill in Hawaii. I'm used to being in South Dakota or Arizona, surrounded by tons of my fun family which I love but it was very relaxing and refreshing to just have a relaxing one in Hawaii with Mary and her family. I spent more time with her family than in my previous trips and I really enjoyed it. They are very loving and her kids are damn cute. I'll hope to get back to Oahu after we film in Kauai in January.

Well it's official, I've joined the ranks of the other 40-somethings that have to wear reading glasses. In fact, I'm wearing them now. They are slipped half down my nose (the librarian look = nice, I know!) so I can see over them to watch the Sunday Night Football game. Makeshift bifocals, ya know. What a boring game tonight, though the games today were very good. Speaking of good games, I'm starting to feel myself get a little Blazer spirit about now. They are a fun team to watch and all the guys seem to be good community characters, which I applaud. I'm told we'll be shooting a segment with Channing Frye next week and we'll likely be filming the Sacramento game next Tuesday, 12/16.

We filmed the Holiday Ale Festival Friday night at Pioneer Square. WOW............lots of "happy people" there, if ya know what I mean. Can I ask you something, Mr. or Ms. drunk person who thinks it's cool to jump in front of the camera while we're filming..........what the hell are you trying to accomplish????? Do you actually think we're going to put you on TV when you act like a complete tool? For your future reference, the answer is NO. If you want to get on our show, then just be cool and chances are very good that we'll put you on. A little food for thought for ya..........

I'm nursing a sinus infection that I got from sexy Mary. So, it's time to shut it down but I just wanted to drop a blog in and wish you all a good Holiday Season! By the way, we got a 4.4 rating last weekend, which is a very good rating, so THANK YOU to ALL of you who continue to watch and support PDXposed!

MAKE GOOD MEMORIES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

JON

2008-11-28T00:33:00.000-08:00

Aloha and Happy Thanksgiving from O'ahu!

I'm amazed by all the text messages and emails I received today, overwhelmed is a better word. It was more than Christmas, or any other holiday for that matter. I think we all just needed to feel thankful for what we have -- each other. This has been the most difficult year for so many of us in this economy and no matter what your financial situation, we all still have the people we care about, the people we love. Nothing can replace that and it's certainly more important than money! Thanks to each of you for reaching out to me today, much appreciated!

So I'm at dinner with Mary tonight at one of her favorite Asian restaurants in Waikiki and all of the sudden, out of the blue, she busts out laughing! Of course I like a good joke, so I'm thinking, this must be good. I ask her what she's laughing about and she refused to tell me, says she'll tell me later, when she can finally keep a straight face. Not good enough for me, so I tell her.......fine, I'm not talking anymore until you tell me what it's about. At this point, I knew it was something about me and I had to know! So, finally she with tears in her eyes from laughing says, it's about my blog. There was a comment in my profile that said something like "I'm a frog hopping from lily pad to lily pad looking for the next party." I vaguely remembered it as I never read my profile after I created it, which is likely very surprising to you with my frequent updates to my blog!~ WHEN I did my profile, that was a question that had a multiple choice answer and that stupid answer was the only one that even remotely fit, so I chose it. And now, it provides much humor for my sexy Mary, so in that respect, I like it. But..........if you read it now, it's changed. I must admit, it's pretty funny and quite "not cool" but hey, it is what it is.

I had a great Thanksgiving, totally chilling out today, watching football, going for a nice, long run and having a great afternoon with Mary. Last night was our feast as she made a wonderful dindin for family and several friends = OHANA. And now, I'm back in the hotel room, feeling compelled to scribe, so I felt I better strike while my pen was hot! Many of you are asking, "Jon, how did your fantasy football team fare last weekend and today, since you had 3 guys going"? Well, since you asked, I did quite well, thank you! Damn, I love this fantasy football sh$t! It makes every game so much fun to watch!

Alright, well, I'm going to watch a few episodes of Weeds, a great show on Showtime, which I rented for my trip. Very funny and a must see, if you like funny entertaining stuff, which I do. I hope you all had a fantastic day, spent with close family and friends (Ohana) and I wish you an enjoyable weekend!

Make good memories~

Jon

2008-11-24T20:10:00.000-08:00

Sure wish I could help you all out more, by being a more consistent blogger. I just can't seem to get in my blogging groove to do it more often. I do have to say that no day is the same so my schedule is always changing, never boring. I meant to write yesterday but my butt was on my couch all day, watching football. This was the most football I've watched in one day in a very long time and the best part, my fantasy team kicked ass!

We are well on our way to booking two more shows in Hawaii in the first quarter of 09. We are going to Kaua'i, January 13-20 to film one complete show and it looks good that we'll also be going to the Big Island in March to feature all the cool things there and the Kona Brewers Festival. After great meetings at the Oregon Coast last week, it also looks very good that we'll be filming a complete episode in Lincoln City and another in Newport. I'm tellin' ya..............travel shows seem to be the way, for now. Mexico and China hang in the mist too.

However.........we ARE filming in the Portland area too. We'll be shooting the Holiday Ale Festival again. How much fun is it to get bundled up to go to a beer festival?! I love it and we'll be bringing the full crew down to Pioneer Square on Friday night, December 5th, so please come down and have a holiday "pop" with us! We will be doing "real people" stuff so you might find yourself on KGW/PDXposed!

My buddy Dan (Denver Donkey Dan) came in to Portland last weekend and we went to see the Seachickens lose again in Seattle. Regardless of the outcome, it was a blast to have him here, especially since he's about to co-habitate with his girlfriend. He's totally in love and I'm happy for him. Love is a good thing as I'm heading to Hawaii for Thanksgiving. Mary is cooking as we speak, I think. She's an awesome cook! And for my Hawaii fan who emailed me this weekend, I'm happy to send you my signature..........just need you to email me your address, please.

Mahalo for reading and I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Make good memories!

Jon

2008-11-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the wind, rain and cold all you Pacific Northwesterners! For those of you who know me, I'm not a "morning person" but today for some reason, I got up early and actually went outside in this shit to take in all my outdoor furniture. What inspired me to do such a stupid thing in this weather.........just getting sick of seeing it all rain drenched, covered in leaves and twigs. And to add to your excitement of this amazing blog, I actually hosed off my new patio so it's all clean. Isn't that awesome? It's now 10:30am and I just formalized our contract with ResortQuest Hawaii, which will be our hotel partner for our Kauai show, to be filmed January 13-20, 2009.

You may say......you keep traveling and don't spend as much time in Portland as you do on the road. This is true and honestly, as you know from previous blogs, it's where we are making our money. We hope to change that, or at least tame it, in 2009, but for now, with the economy the way it has been (looking up!!), we have to travel. Speaking of travel....get this. After clearing my head from an overnight flight from Hawaii, I got contacted by the Guadalajara Sister City Assoc., whom I've been semi-courting for about 4 years now. They asked me if I'd be interested in going on an all expenses paid trip to Guad-Puerta Vallarta in 2 WEEKS for a press scouting trip. I was freaking, trying to juggle my schedule to go and during the process, the trip got postponed until February (sigh of relief!). The Exec. Director, Corina, digs our show and it looks very good that we'll be filming at least one if not two shows in 2009. I know......another travel show! And then the possibility of China with Sam Adams..........I hope we get frequent flyer miles!

My bestest buddy (since 5 years old!!) is coming in to Portland for the weekend (Seahawks game Sunday) but one day too late, damnit. He gets here Friday but Thursday night is going to be fun. I have 3 things on my docket, all PDXposed appearance related. One of them, a JASO Tea House Jazz concert at the gorgeous Old Church in downtown, I'm MC'g. We're also filming that event. Then we hit Stephanie Schneiderman's new CD Release Party at Doug Fir. Her new stuff is fantastic and we'll definitely have her on PDXposed in 2009! Count on it.

Well, time to get back to work. Somebody has to bring home the bacon here. Thanks for all your support and your KIND EMAILS to us. We appreciate you more than you know. Our ratings on KGW have been great, thanks to all of you! Look forward to some great shows this month!! It's sweeps time baby! The pic is from my trip with Mary to the Four Seasons on Lana'i, where they had an 18-hole putting course! How cool is that?!!?

Have a dry, warm, great week!

Make good memories!

jon

2008-11-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

I wish I could still say Aloha but I'm back in reality and how fitting, to arrive back yesterday to a dark, cold and wet day -- a perfect Fall day in Portland. I just wanted to stay in bed all day. Wouldn't it be nice to have just a bit more sun in Portland? The weather in Hawaii wasn't superb by any means but it was warm and the sun did at least show its face a few times, even on the cloudy days. I'm attaching a pic from my hike with Mary above the Four Seasons in Lana'i, a very swanky hotel. Again........if you've EVER wanted to go to Hawaii but didn't think you could afford it, NOW is the time to go. Rates are great and you can totally score.

Speaking of scoring, we'll be on the cover of The Oregonian's TV Click on Sunday, 11/16. I was interviewed today by Tom D'Antoni, a friend of the show who does freelance work for them. He also does a fun music blog and hosts a radio show every Saturday night. Sounds like a fun show and we just may feature him someday soon. Thanks again, Tom! I certainly said a lot (go figure) so we'll see what he puts in the article?!

I'm in the studio now, working on future shows and I must say.....we have some good stuff for you in November! Sherri Hiner, Mattress World, couple of her drivers and I went to driving school at PIR and it's a fun segment. She is fun! We also feature the Cherry Poppin Daddies on our 11/22 show. Did you know they are from Eugene? It's election season so we also bring you one of the fun Candidates Gone Wild parties. Byron Beck and Storm Large also make duo appearances on the show, so do tune in. You won't be disappointed.

I'm trying to post more, really I am. I promise to keep trying as long as you keep dropping me a line, letting me know you're reading. Thanks/Mahalo for your time. I'll be in touch soon and I join you all in our celebration of a new President. Can I finally travel with pride again? Ouch! I did say that.

Cheers and as always............make good memories~!

Jon

2008-10-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

What's up? This has been a typical Monday, which is why it's my least favorite day of the week. I won't go into it all, but suffice to say that many things about humanity were confirmed today, not the least of which is people justifying their jobs by making things difficult for progress. Times are tough, for all of us and of course, we're all feeling the pinch in many ways. But.........needless attention to details that don't matter is a waste of time, in my humble opinion. Enough on that.

Starting in reverse order, I'm sick with a cold but did manage to get out and have drinks with our new Mayor-elect, Sam Adams. We've semi known each other, but I got to spend some good time with him Saturday night and let me tell you, he's a damn cool guy! He was what I expected and more. We had some city business to discuss and then we discussed his future involvement with PDXposed. He digs our show and he'll be a fun Guest Host in the future. We're talking about going to China in April, with his delegation! That......will be fun. As always, stay tuned for that.

Earlier in the week, we had the pleasure of meeting the new baby elephant at the Oregon Zoo -- Sam. It was SO cool, to be that close to the baby and it was fun to watch him playing with his food and busting through his mama's legs. He was very playful and we have it all on camera. That segment will air in mid November and I promise you, it will be a good one. I took the photo for this blog with my I Phone. I highly recommend that phone and the pictures are awesome! I promised the Zoo staff that I'd finally attend the Zoo Lights this Holiday Season, and I'm embarrassed that I've not been before. Should be a blast and beautiful to boot!

So, I went back to Hawaii a couple weeks ago as you know and I'm going back Friday. But this time it's for some real R&R! Mary and I will spend some time at a Four Seasons on Lanai. I do have some meetings, but very limited. We are working on a Kauai show, filming it in January and airing it in February. We'll do many more fun activities on that show, so it will be less "infomercially" if that's a word?! I'm also pitching an idea to the ABC affiliate there, regarding "Staycations" which is a buzz word you'll soon hear if you already haven't.

Speaking of, Sean and I had an amazing dindin with the folks from the Newport Chamber, who were very pleased with their show. We're talking about more shows there and even bigger things on the Oregon Coast. Keep watching and you'll see. It's so much fun to work/partner with people who "get it" and many of our friends on the Oregon Coast DO!!

Have a good week and make sure to drink plenty of water. Tis the season to get sick!!

Make good memories!

Jon

2008-10-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

HAWAII here I come again, and not too soon. The weather sucks here, cold and wet, so I'm stoked to be heading back to paradise. The weather is so boring there, though, always 85 degrees during the day and 75 degrees at night. Borrrriiiiinnnnnnggggggg. NOT! I'm excited to see Mary too as it's been over a month. Distance is tough and if you've ever had to do it, you know what I'm talkin about! I'm going to not only see Mary but to meet with future potential show partners, for another one or two shows over there. A Kauai show is looking good for 2009 so stay tuned!

Mike is kicking ass on the Black Hills segments! It's looking really good, especially since we shot everything in high definition. I'm completely certain that the State of South Dakota and our customer who booked us for the work, Lawrence and Schiller, will be very pleased with the results. If any of you would like to see the footage, please let me know as it will not be shown on PDXposed.

We shot some "real people" stuff last night at the Greek Festival, just up the street from my house. What a fun, neighborhood festival it always is. We didn't do a segment for the show, rather just asked people some questions. Here they are and if you want to know the answers, tune in to PDXposed!

1. What country has the lowest birthrate of any country in the world?

2. 70% of women prefer "this" over sex?

3. What was the first couple to be shown in bed together on TV?

I love football. I love football. I love football. What a great time for us sports fans!! We have college and pro football (my Huskers and Seahawks SUCK!). We also have the baseball playoffs now and oh yeah, the Blazers kick in soon. I'm not a huge fan but I do like that the team has 86'd the "jailblazer" moniker! Keep it up guys!

The photo is of my new pet. I adopted him during my trip to South Dakota. Isn't he cute? His name is Norm. He likes food.

Have a good week and I'll say Aloha from Waikiki this week!

Make good memories~

jon

2008-09-28T16:50:00.000-07:00

What a weekend at the Oregon Coast! We filmed a segment for one of our Seaside shows yesterday with Seaside Helicopters. Gary, the owner, took us up for an extra long flight and the weather was near perfect! I hope Mike got some good scenic shots because you could see for miles. If you haven't taken a Seaside Helicopter ride yet and you're heading to the Oregon Coast, it's a must do. It's very affordable and Gary and his staff are all great guys!

From there, we headed up the coast a few miles to our home away from Portland - Astoria! Our buddies Chris and Jen Holen who own Baked Alaska Restaurant, put on a brew festival, the Pacific NW Brew Cup. Sean, Mike and I offered to help them out and that's exactly what we did. We poured beer for them from 7pm to 10pm and let me tell you, it was fun being on the other side of the table for this event. I'm usually enjoying some beers at these events, but we couldn't sample our pours (OLCC rules), so we were completely sober, watching others loosen up, to put it mildly. It was a great, local Astoria event and we all had a fantastic time. That's what it's all about, right? Having fun!

Things are settling in nicely with KGW. We've had our "technical snafus" but that is to be expected. We had a good meeting with their sales directors this week and got our ratings for last week. We didn't expect ratings this soon, but we were very pleased to see that 1 in 20 households in the KGW viewing area is tuning in to PDXposed on Saturday nights at 7pm. This was a pleasant surprise, especially considering that we've only been on three weeks. Thanks to all of YOU for watching. Keep watching please, because our shows will get better and better, promise!

Enough of my little break from my NFL Sunday. Time to hit the gym and catch the first half of the Sunday Night Game on KGW. In case you care, and I know you don't, my fantasy football team is having an average day today and I will fall to 1-3 in my league. Very disappointing, yes, I know! Enjoy the photo of the Astoria-Megler Bridge, taken from my I-Phone. Can you believe the great quality.......from a phone?!

Have a great week and as always, please make good memories!

Jon

2008-09-21T15:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Sunday to all. I should be in Seattle at the Seahawks first win, but my buddy Greg hurt his back so I didn't feel like doing it solo. I met some cool people last night at a birthday party and gave them my tickets. This party was a blast and it went very late into the morning. I think I got to bed around 5am? Yeah, I'm a little tired today but it was fun to see a bunch of old friends and to meet some new ones.

Mike and I finished up our South Dakota Tourism project this week, at least the filming part. The past three months have been hell for me as I've only been home about three weeks combined. I'm very stoked to be back in Portland and to not have to travel so much. I feel like my life might actually slow down to a manageable roar now, but we'll see about that. We did have a fantastic time in the Black Hills. I'm amazed at the serene beauty of the Black Hills. I was raised there and my family is still there, but to go back and film all the wonderful things to do there, as a tourist, was a special opportunity for me. Mike was pleasantly surprised at how cool it is there too! Now it's time to get editing the project, which is another topic, a rather daunting one!

We had the best crowd we've ever had Friday night for our big band performance, at least that's my take. If you've not been to Tony Starlight's Supper Club & Lounge yet, I highly recommend it. It's such a fun club and the music there is great, not just our big band, all the music that happens there. I've not had it yet but I hear they have a great hamburger too. It won some award? It's on NE Sandy Blvd., at the corner of 37th (where the Banfield crosses at Sandy). We play there again on 10/25 but I'll not be at that gig, going to Hawaii to see Mary and be her date for a costume party -- Rockstars and Groupies. Any ideas of which rockstar I should be? I'd love some input. I want it to be fun! Email me at jon@pdxposed.com if you have some thoughts. Thanks!

Well, Seattle just won its first game. They started strong but they really don't look good. Oh well, it's just a game right? Screw that. I hate when my teams lose, always have. In college at the Un. of Nebraska, when the Huskers lost a football game, it would get me down for several days. I'm not that bad now but I don't like it. Time to motivate myself to hit the gym, just felt the need to blog a bit. Cool pic of Mike and me, eh? Crazy Horse is a pretty cool thing to see!

Thanks for reading and do have a good week. I'm expecting good things this week and I hope you are too. Cheers!

Make good memories!

Jon

2008-09-07T16:03:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally here! We debuted successfully on KGW last night. It has been a long time coming and tons of hard work but we did it! THANKS to all of you who support me and the show. We all appreciate it. We watched the show at the new Old Town Pizza at MLK and Alberta. What a cool place!! It feels like it could be in Bend, OR and I highly recommend it to each of you!

Afterwards, Mike, Josh and I went to Tony Starlight's to see some live music. I ran into my buddy Don Barnes, who had to leave our big band due to his wife's cancer - very sad. What's not sad is that she was there last night, looking great!!! It's been very hard for them and it was so good to see them out. They were with our bass player, Steve Morelli and his lovely wife Delores - very fun peeps!! It was great to see them all and I mention it because that's what life is all about, spending time with close friends and enjoying yourself. The show is simply "the show."

We shot in Seaside this weekend and had a blast. Oregon Beach Vacations put us up in this killer pad just off the beach in Cannon Beach. Heather Borgens, my former Co-host, came and guest hosted with us which was great. She is now married with two kids and is super busy but we love having her when we can get her! We filmed a car show which normally wouldn't jazz me too much but his was super cool, so look forward to that on our show.

Well, time to get cleaned up. I leave you with a glimpse of my day with Mary (from Hawaii), who was here this week. We hiked Multnomah Falls on Tuesday and we were both amazed at the beauty of it. If you've not been there in awhile, go now! It's so gorgeous!!!

Make good memories!!

Jon

2008-08-21T22:15:00.000-07:00

Two weeks and counting, until we debut on KGW, and believe me, things are super busy! I'm actually home for a whole week, which is the first time in two months! I've been on the road in South Dakota, Seaside, Astoria, Newport, South Dakota again and now home -- yay! I love being home and even though my family is in the Black Hills, this is "my home" and it's always great to be home.

Tomorrow, Mike and I shoot four promos for KGW, to promote our first four shows. You should start seeing PDXposed promos on KGW this weekend. They are cutting the first one on their own so I look forward to seeing it. We have no idea what is around the corner for us, after airing on KGW. It is interesting to ponder and we're ready for this move. It's been a long time coming and if you've watched our show, you'll notice that we are not only shooting in Hi Def but we are also launching a new graphics package, so our look and feel is constantly improving. At least we hope you feel that way!?

The Black Hills Tourism group booked us to shoot several fun locations in the beautiful Black Hills and we just got back from round one. It went very well and highlights included holding and playing with bear cubs and then feeding the big black bears, shoveling food out the back of a pickup truck as they swarmed us! It was SO cool. We also spent two days in Deadwood, which was a blast. The photo with this entry is of Mike shooting the wagon trains converge on Deadwood, for the first time in 100 years! Those wagon trains took the actual trails from their starting points, so one of them left Fort Pierre, SD, on July 29th and got to Deadwood on August 15th. One guy actually died on the road, so it was serious stuff. It was quite magical, really the entire time in South Dakota. Mike was blown away with how cool it is there. I think you would all find it a pleasant surprise. We don't expect to air any of this stuff on PDXposed but if you want to see it, I can direct you to the websites it will be presented on, in a few months.

Time to get back to the Olympics, which I'm totally digging!!! It's fun to see our country rally around our athletes and get some patriotism back. For the past 8 years or so, we really haven't had any thing to get too excited about so this Olympics has been fun. Have a great weekend everybody and if you're around NE37th and Sandy tomorrow night, pop into Tony Starlight's and catch our big band perform.

Make Good Memories!

Jon

2008-07-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching the season finale of "Denise Richards, It's Complicated" and I must say that I enjoy feeling more normal. Not that we have anything in common but she has some pretty messed up stuff going on and it makes me appreciate what I have.

Hello again. We just got back from a fun and tiring shoot in one of the "friendliest cities on the Oregon Coast," Newport, Oregon! What a diverse community with fun and very proud people. We took a different angle, since the city paid for the entire show. We didn't feature any hotels or restaurants, in our traditional style. We focused on their four main districts: Art Deco, Nye Beach, South Beach and their Historic Bayfront. This show should be interesting and it will air on KGW on October 4th, for the first time.

From filming in Pendleton the weekend before to Newport, it is so clear how amazing our state is! Oregon is so diverse and our people are as good as you'll find anywhere. We seem to quickly becoming more of an ambassador than we ever imagined and we love this role. Did you know.........when I was in high school, I seriously contemplated becoming a foreign dignitary with hopes of becoming a US Ambassador someday. It's true, but then I spent a summer in Washington DC, working for the US Secret Service in the am and the US Senate in the afternoon, and that's all she wrote there! No way, Jose!

So, we're back in Portland and we'll be filming Last Thursday tomorrow night on Alberta Street. I SO prefer this over First Thursday where all the "Pearl Society" members come out to play. Alberta Street is so much more "real" so I'm looking forward to that. I'm have a special co-host too, 2006's Miss Oregon. Her name is Donilee and she's super cool. Saturday, we're filming the Red Bull Flugtag and we'll have Nicole from Macadam co-hosting. Please join us in the the fun and at least say hello if you're around.

Time to soak my tired bod and the photo above is from my I Phone, taken at the super cool Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. Yes, I had to buck up and get the new phone. It takes amazing pics! Have a great weekend to all and I wish you my best. Thanks for reading!!

Make good memories~

Jon

2008-07-11T00:40:00.000-07:00

OK, so I might be the worst blogger in the history of blogging. I wouldn't know because I really don't read them but you sure as heLcLk do! Twice this week in meetings, I was reminded of my blog updates, so I'm keenly aware that I need not only blog more but be careful with what I say. I can do that. Well, I can be careful with what I say but as you know if you read this, you know I'm seasonally challenged with the updates. I know......"seasonally challenged" is probably not proper English, but it's my damn blog!

Aloha from one of my favorite places on the planet, Honolulu, Hawaii. I'm awaiting Mary's arrival back to my room at the Sheraton Waikiki, 22 scenic floors above the best beach in the world (arguably). If you've read this stuff, you know that I absolutely adore this place. Why am I back again so quickly you ask? Did I already tell you???? Not sure because it's late Portland time but here goes........I'm here to work on additional video opportunities for our production company, The Digital Studio. PDXposed is only part of what we do, though on the forefront of your eyeballs. I met with Ross, the GM of Duke's (see www.pdxposed.com for Hawaii show #1 where he is featured at the end of the show!!) tonight. He had some great feedback which I will spare you but suffice to say he dug his segment but had some ideas for us to make it more "Hawaiian" next time. I LOVED his honest feedback and respect anyone who will speak their mind, especially if I agree, which I did. Thanks Ross, if you're reading, and thanks even moreso for the free dindin!!

Yesterday, Annie, our reinvented PR/Marketing guru and I had a meeting with Travel Portland. WOW! These guys are moving in all the right directions and the synergies between the two of us are potentially in line with all that matters. Be looking for big things between our two entities. It's just a dream at this point, but both Annie and I have a very good feeling about this or I wouldn't post it here. Remember that I have to be careful with what I say (I say to myself!).

So Mary.............she is much more "spunky" this time. She has had several friends question her about this "dude from Portland" whom she knows little about. I validate those concerns but those of you who know me, know that my intentions are always good. When I met her, I told her, "no expectations" and she agreed that this was best for her too. It's still the rule between us as we both live 2,500 miles away. However, I'm happy to see her and she is so supportive of what we're trying to accomplish over here. Oh, and she looks amazing. No, I'm not going to post her picture for you. What I WILL post is a photo from the ABC Store close to the hotel. If you watched Hawaii #1, the pic is taken right where I did the SPAM FAST FACT!! I took it for Josh and Mike. Mike loves this sushi stuff and Josh hates it with a passion!

I must turn to my right and stare out at paradise which means, I'm out! Mahalo for your time and I really do thank you for reading. Have a great Friday!

Make good memories, always!

Your friend,

jon

2008-07-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hello from the Black Hills! I've been here since July 1, seeing my family and also meeting with the Black Hills Tourism PR folks -- discussing a video project, featuring all the cool things to do here. I'd love to get this deal but they do have an in-house video production company so it's probably unlikely but hey, I can write off the trip, right?! The photo to the left is of downtown Deadwood, by the way. You may have seen the series on HBO?

July is a crazy month for me -- here until tomorrow, then back to Hawaii this Thursday - next Wednesday, then to Pendleton next Thursday to film an entire show on that community. I get back to Portland the night of July 20th and Rob will be in town. I'm co-hosting a 40th birthday party for the boy at my house on July 23rd. I expect to breathe a bit in August, though we'll be filming and editing tons, of course.

We're getting anxious for our KGW debut and our goal is to have 5-6 shows completed by our September 6th debut. I'm doing my best to delegate leadership of the production to Josh. I tend to hold on too tightly sometimes and I just can't do that anymore. We'll see how it goes and I'm counting on Mike to assist as well. I'm so much more effective when I "hit the road" and the crew knows this. When and if I can get in front of people/communities, my close rate is very high. I'm looking forward to going back to Hawaii this week, where I'll be meeting with some high-level people, to discuss some potentially big projects, some involving PDXposed, some not. It will be great to see Mary again, as it's been almost two months!

Well, being the helpful son that I am, I need to go and mow my mom's lawn. She likes her yard to be near perfect, and she likes the way I do things. So, I always seem to get her "lists" when I'm home in South Dakota. I like to help, so it's all good. Take care and I hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend!

Make good memories!

jon

2008-06-18T22:11:00.000-07:00

How much do you love this weather? Damn, we deserve it after our less than stellar winter! I'm diggin it and I even planted some flowers. My mother is coming to Portland this weekend with her beau, Bill, so I need to have my home looking good, so she doesn't worry about her bachelor son. Actually, my house is always clean and it's decorated quite nicely. Storm and I did that spa day and the segment opens with her waking my butt up in my room (keep your minds clean now!). She said, "Are you sure you're not gay? Your house is way to nice and clean to be straight." I've heard that before. This will be the first time my mom will see me sing with the big band. We're playing a wedding at the fancy Oregon Golf Club this Saturday night!

I had a very successful trip to the Oregon Coast last week and we'll be doing two new shows in Seaside and likely at least one in Newport. We have good success when we hit the road and as we are in between Title Sponsors, this is a good way for us to generate revenue. Moving forward, we're shooting everything in HiDef which everybody is very pleased to hear. The photo in this blog is from my quick lunch stop in Depoe Bay. Cool shot, eh?! YES! It is Depoe Bay, not Depot Bay. We've actually asked people that on our show before and almost nobody gets that right.

On a bummer note, Mary is not coming this weekend from Hawaii. Her family had a tragedy, so she can't make it. I'm going back there in three weeks to secure additional business for PDXposed and for our production company, so I'll see her then. She's been very helpful with some great connections for us and I fully expect to gain some business from them, so not only is she gorgeous, sexy and fun, but she's been a great asset for us. That's a nice combination, huh?!

It's been a long day so I'm gonna sign off but I've felt guilty (that damn Catholic guilt) for not blogging earlier, so I felt compelled tonight. We'll be filming at PGE Park tomorrow night, so if you're at the game, find us and we'll put you on TV!

Ciao for now~

Make Good Memories~

Jon

2008-06-08T20:27:00.001-07:00

How was your weekend everyone? We just got back from filming the Ocean Crest Resort in Moclips, WA (pretty much in the middle of the WA Coast, half our from Ocean Shores). And of course we were in Seattle last night. We did not win an Emmy but it's cool to be nominated for our third and fourth. We continually realize that we are on our own island with PDXposed, that there is nothing like us out there so there really is not a category for us. We discussed this in detail last night, which was pretty much a repeat of our conversation two years ago and here's what we decided -- we will NOT change our fun and interactive format to conform to the regional Emmy formulas. We are NOT news and we never will be, though of course we'll continue to inform on all the fun and cool things to do around here and elsewhere. We had a great after party in our hotel rooms and had some great laughs. Hence, the photo of Mike attached to this posting. We laughed so hard, we cried!!

We spent the entire trip back in the car discussing our next year, starting with September 6th, our KGW debut. There are many details about our partnership that will fall into place as time goes by so for now, we have our challenges, anticipating the future. But it's also kinda fun and in the end, it's all positive. We know that our worlds will quickly change in September so now, it's the "calm before the storm." I have meetings there this week to discuss production and sales and I look forward to that.

I also look forward to my OR Coast swing this week, to discuss more travel shows in Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Lincoln City and Newport. We have found a very successful format, that has truly kept PDXposed alive the past two years. We don't want to change that so we'll be proposing to KGW that the last show of every month is a travel show, featuring mostly NW destinations that you can drive to on one tank of gas! My God, has gas gone through the roof. Amtrak is actually cheaper than driving to Seattle. And I'd rather take Amtrak, if it's just me doing the driving! Our next scheduled travel show is Pendleton, OR, in July! That show will air the final weekend in September.

As you can see, I AM trying to blog more and as I do more, I will write less. And of course, I will be less personal at the request of my "handlers"......... and you all know who you are. Mary comes from Hawaii next week and I'm stoked for that. My mom and step dad are also coming, and they will attend my next big band gig, which is playing a wedding at the OR Golf Club in West Linn. My mom has never seen me sing with a band, so I'm looking forward to that. Mary is excited too, which is fun!

Have a great week and if you're up for some fun this Thursday night, feel free to attend the Pazzo Ristorante re-opening party, complete with good food, drinks and live music. There is also a silent auction and yours truly is MC'g the event. Hope to see you there and thanks for reading~!

Make Good Memories!

Jon

2008-06-03T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends!

Sorry for the absence but I'm back. I think I'm going to be using this blog as an opportunity to let you all know what we're up to and where we'll be, since things are really heating up with KGW. We air in less than 3 months and it is our goal to get 6-7 shows "in the can" before 9/1. That means, we'll be filming a lot this summer, so please look for us around town and we'll be doing more "Real People" stuff, like we did the first few years. It is our goal to get tons of locals on our show doing some fun and crazy things.

We had a magical trip to Hawaii. That place is paradise for me and my crew really dug it too. I gave 1/2 the crew time off, 1/2 the time, so they all got some downtime to relax and enjoy Oahu. Of course, I did not get this downtime though you know me.......I found a way. My will.......found a way. We shot 20 hours of footage for 45 minutes of showtime. How would you like to be us and have to sift through all that great work and widdle it down to two shows. Good news for all of you is that these shows will be amazing. I know you hear me say that often but you will see, trust me! I'm going back July 10-15 to secure more shows for PDXposed and also work for The Digital Studio. It is a personal goal of mine to get back there at least twice a year for work and play. That place mellows me out and as a typical Type A personality, I need that!

Last weekend, we did a 6 hour spa/wellness shoot with our good friend, Storm Large! She is the coolest guest host and you are always kept on your toes with her. You'll have to wait until September to see this segment but it will be worth your wait! This weekend, we're filming the Ocean Crest Resort, just north of Ocean Shores, WA, and then we'll be in Seattle for the Emmy's. It's our second time being nominated for two Emmy's, so we know what to expect at the awards in Seattle. But of course, we do hope we win at least one this time. We don't expect it but man would it be nice. We'll be seated with some of the KGW group, so that will be nice. I'll let you know how it goes. Just know we'll have fun!

I'm off to watch the Mariners lose again (how negative is that?!), but I promise to write more often. Thanks for checking in and I wish you all a good humpday!

Make good memories!

Jon

2008-05-04T12:12:00.000-07:00

What's happening my friends? I'm blogging today on my Mac, which I HATE. There is nothing better on this Mac, over a PC, nothing! I'm going to give this to my editors and get another PC. I think if you are into video/audio on your computer, this is the way to go, but my patience is wearing out with this piece of shit. Get it? Not happy with the Mac!!

So, we're off to Hawaii on Wednesday and we're ready. I've been way too involved in the planning for this trip and we're not really making that much money, so I will take this experience into future travel shows. But, I can't bitch too much. It IS HAWAII!! I've always wanted to join the Mile High Club but never have. I do know that I get "Lei'd" when I get off the plane and we'll be capturing it on camera, so that's a nice way to arrive in Honolulu! We are filming our asses off right away and for the first 3 days, we're nonstop. We planned it that way, so we could have the weekend off and have more free time to play. I didn't want it to be like our first Sapporo trip when we filmed constantly and had very little play time. Not this trip! We will have plenty of time to have fun outside of filming and we should arrive back into Portland refreshed. That's the goal anyway.

KGW absolutely ROCKS! What a pleasure to work with such great people in this crazy business. They are so professional and excited to have PDXposed in their inventory. I'm so stoked to have a team of sales people to sell the show. I have no desire to sell PDXposed any longer. If I can just focus on creating, producing and hosting this shizzo, I'll be a happy man. We are gearing up in all ways for our September 6th debut on KGW Newschannel 8!

I'm happily single and I plan to keep it that way for awhile. I have no time for the drama that a relationship can bring. I know they don't have to but it's just the way it is for me. My dear friends Rhonda and Dennis, whom I had dinner with last night, are the epitome of a happy marriage. They don't fight. They adore each other and they are each other's best friend. Oh, and they have an adorable daughter, Delainy! I aspire to be them, someday! I am totally into marriage again, but only if I can have what they have. It's possible, I know, but not probable. I'd rather be alone than deal with the shit I have dealt with recently! Enough of that.

I hope you are all looking forward to a great summer. We deserve it damnit!

Make good memories, pour favor!

jon

2008-04-19T14:40:00.001-07:00

Happy Saturday. As I sit on my couch watching the boring NBA playoffs, I feel compelled to blog. We had a great shoot last night at Dante's - filmed the uber cool dudes, Hillstomp. They have been together for years and as a duo, those guys can really bring it! If you haven't seen them, I highly suggest you check them out. I'd describe their music as bluegrass with a country rock blend. They are super cool guys and the energy in the room was electric! Tonight, we film a very famous band from Eugene, making a comeback - The Cherry Poppin Daddies. My buddy Richard Smith (dicksmith) asked to to ax them how they got their name. Do you think they're tired of that? Oh well, I told him I'd ask his question and reference him, so they don't think I'm a total idiot.

We found out last night that we got nominated for two Emmy's - outstanding entertainment show and host. We were/are excited as it's always good to be recognized by your peers for your hard work. I know we make it look easy, my friends, but we work our butts off on this show. We do have fun, of course, but it's a lot of work. We're deciding whether to go to Seattle on June 7th for the awards ceremony. We went two years ago and spent a lot of money and of course, we didn't win. It's an honor to just be nominated but we wanna win, damnit! Anyway, it's pretty cool.

Hawaii is only 2 1/2 weeks away. Our schedule is now set. We get all the hotel/restaurant shoots out of the way the first 3 days and the rest is pretty much cake and fun. I get to swim with the dolphins, whale watch, take in a luau or two, possibly swim with sharks and more. I LOVE Hawaii and honestly, I dig Waikiki! I've heard it said many times that it's just a glorified LA but I humbly disagree! The beach in Waikiki is the best I've ever seen and I've been to some amazing beaches in the world. We are ready for this trip and we so need it! We plan to stay closer to home this next year but we will definitely be hitting the road. China is still in the works but there's too much political unrest happening over there now. We'll see.

Have a great weekend and if you're looking for something fun to do tonight, come and join us at the Wonder Ballroom for the Cherry Poppin Daddies tonight. Find me and I'll buy you a drink! Cheers one and all!

Make good memories, always~

jon

2008-04-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

Happy Spring Fever everybody! It's time to celebrate, like we need a reason, right?! I'm at my friend Tracy's sweet condo, blogging while she gets ready to hit First Thursday with me. It is the first of the series, I think, and considering this awesome weather, it will be jammin' tonight! I don't usually go, but since my bday is tomorrow and we're filming all weekend, I figured I'd celebrate a bit tonight with friends.

Speaking of friends, is there anything better than a spring ski trip with your buddies? I think NOT! Rob got the Breckenridge hook up last weekend so we flew into Denver, got picked up by my best friend since I was 5, Dan. Rob and I flew in a few minutes apart so it was convenient for all of us. Our buddy from Dallas, John, also joined us as did somebody, whom I cannot name. It's a good story though..................I say too much sometimes, so I'm gonna try to turn that corner a bit. The snow was EPIC and we had a flippin blast, of course. Honestly, it is my absolute favorite vacation, never lets me down!

The support for PDXposed going to KGW has been so amazing and we're all thankful for our friends and fans of the show. We have some pretty major growing pains to go through, like musical rights issues for broadcast TV, FCC rules, equipment issues, etc.....but nothing we can't handle. Interesting about the FCC rules..............nobody really knows them. KGW felt that drinking alcohol on camera is not allowed and Josh challenged it in our meeting, saying that he has seen Conan O'Brien drinking on his show, plus others. So...........I went straight to the source and called the FCC. I spoke to an attorney with them and she advised me that there is NO rule about not drinking on camera. Based on our show, this is good news. We never promote irresponsible drinking or getting drunk, but we DO drink. Come on..........all the festivals, wineries, restaurants, etc..........it would be foolish to not participate, right? I also asked her about the "7 bad words" that you cannot say on television. She said that is also bogus and made famous by George Carlin's act. The F and S words are the only two words that cannot be said, but only between 6am and 10pm. So..........it was very comforting to know that all 71 episodes of PDXposed are FCC approved for broadcast television! We've been doing it right!

We're filming at The Wonder Ballroom, The Toy Room, tomorrow (4/4) and following a Portland Lumberjax player, Dallas Eliuk (Daria's husband -- 105.1 The Buzz DJ) around all day to show our viewers what happens on gameday. Since they are newlyweds, I'm going to have a mock newlywed game for them, with some fun questions that Lisa came up with, should be fun and playful! I may even hop into the bed with Dallas for a nap. We are going to do exactly what he does on gameday and a nap is part of his routine, so there. Speaking of shows, people are actually booking a Hawaii trip to join us in 5 weeks. That's pretty cool. Wow! Only 5 weeks away. Well, it's time to play! Have a great night and enjoy the nice weather! Thanks for reading. Oh, and Mike, you're fired!

Make good memories!

jon

ps..............sorry no pic, at Tracy's pad and using her computer!

2008-03-23T12:57:00.000-07:00

It's Easter Sunday, so happy Easter to you all. This used to be a big holiday for my family but for me, solo man, ......... not so much. My grandmother used to buy all 6 kids new shoes and we'd get all dolled up for church and brunch. Honestly, I wasn't a big fan of church. It bored me to tears and I never felt the priests (yes, I'm a recovering Catholic) had anything interesting to say. but I did like brunch at the country club because there were lots of hot chicks to check out.

What a crazy day for college basketball. Davidson just spanked Georgetown, which I had in my Final Four, oops! I always get so bummed after football season ends but this is a pretty cool time of year too. The NCAA Basketball Tournament is one of the best tourneys around, maybe second only to the World Cup Soccer Tournament, in my every so humble opinion. Good stuff! And, baseball season is just around the corner, hence the pic with Ichiro. That was one of a handful of interviews, when I was a little nervous. Ichiro doesn't do interviews but we got one with him, which was very cool. Even the other (naked) Seattle Mariners in the locker room were surprised to see Ichiro be interviewed and as you can see, I got him to laugh!

Since we signed the KGW contract, things have really gotten crazy, in a good way. This was such a surprise but we all feel it's great fit. Time to step everything up to the next level. We're ready for it and are excited to tackle all of our new challenges on. We filmed in Ocean Shores last weekend and I gotta say...........the Galway Bay Irish Pub is a really fun place, especially for we fellow Irishmen! It's a very authentic Irish pub and yes, I DO know......been to Ireland twice. In fact, in 2000, I got to march, as an alumnus, in my college marching band, the University of Nebraska, in the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Dublin. It was the most viewed parade in history and we were the headline band. It was amazing, seeing all the cute little Irish kids with their faces painted orange, green and white!! I must tell you though, that we party much harder over here in celebration of St. Patrick's Day than they do over in Ireland, which surprised me. But we had a blast of course. Ireland is awesome and I recommend it for any of you.

I get another ski trip this week, yes with Rob again and yes to Colorado again, but my buddies Dan and John are also joining us. We're flying in to Denver on Thursday and heading straight up to the mountains, Breckenridge to be specific. I think we have a similar hook up as we did in Aspen and I know we have a free condo, so the rest of it.....I'll happily accept. I don't expect it to compare to Aspen. We'll just make our own new memories.

And speaking of.........we had big band performances both Thursday and Friday nights. That is a lot of work let me tell ya, but I love it. I added Route 66 (duet with Deanna), Mack The Knife and one of my favorite Michael Buble' tunes, Feelin Good! It was a good crowd and a fun show, so please come to our next one at Tony Starlight's -- May 23 & 24! We also had two shoots yesterday, one filming Tony Starlight's show. This was the first time I've actually seen his whole "schtick" and I was super impressed. Man, that guy is talented and damn funny! His venue is so cool and I love it even more, because I can walk there from my house. How sweet is that?!

We'll be filming a lot so please look for us around town. If you have an cool ideas for us to film, please let us know.........jon@pdxposed.com is how to reach me. Thanks for reading, happy Easter and I wish you all my best. Oh and by the way, we have a new tagline for our show, that Julie came up with and we dig it.............."Loving local, going global"!!

Make good memories, always!

Jon

2008-03-13T17:22:00.000-07:00

I finally have something big to blog about...........my nephew/godson made All-District Band in Phoenix. He's a drummer and a damn good soccer player, so yeah Tyler!! Oh, and PDXposed signed a deal with the #1 broadcast network in Oregon/SW Washington this week - KGW!! They are the NBC affiliate and they crush the competition in sweeps so we're very excited to partner with them. We'll start airing in September, every Saturday night @ 7pm (killer timeslot!!) and a couple more times throughout the week/weekend.

I know............I told you that we were close to a deal with Fox and we were. But they dragged their feet and we had to put ourselves out to the other networks. It's all about finding the best deal and KGW brought their A game! It happened very quickly. I met with them on Feb. 29th and we signed the deal on March 11th. I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to work with people who make a decision and then move on it. Brenda B. at KGW did just that and I love it!! We've been doing the dance with Fox for almost 2 years. Don't get me wrong, I really like all the people at Fox. They're great guys and gals but they just couldn't get it done. Brenda and co. got it done! Thanks again Brenda!

Aspen was unbelievable. It was possibly the best ski trip of my life and last Friday was absolutely the best day of my life. Now that's quite a statement, right? OK, I'll tell you as best I can but the end of the evening gets a little fuzzy.............but first, what a treat to ride on Rob's CNN coattails. The Aspen PR peeps took major care of us......free condo, free ski passes, free ski rentals, and lots of free food and drinks. Aspen is super expensive so this was pinch-yourself-cool (just made that up, like it?!). So, Friday........Rob and I got up for our 6am morning run (yeah right!). We hit the Aspen Highlands mtn. around 11am and skied for a couple hours. The snow was "epic" and of course, we "killed it"! He'd been telling me for a year about this place that we were meeting friends for lunch. I expected it to be cool, but it surpassed my expectations. We walked in late and our buddies (which they quickly became!) were already into the wine. This place, called CLOUD NINE, is run by an Austrian guy and everybody working there is from a diff't country. We got into the wine too and had a great, very fancy, lunch. Our hosts were the Aspen Mtn. PR staff and the Aspen Chamber PR hottie. We were in perfect company! Well, one bottle of wine led to another, and another, and another.........which led to some Austrian schnapps...............which led to a bunch of adults, the entire place, dancing on the tables and acting like fraternity/sorority brats. It was surreal how quickly a fine dining experience turned into a free for all party. Mind you, it was only 3 in the afternoon at this point. So we documented the day with a group photo (still waiting for Rob to send, damnit!) and got ready to ski (completely hammered!) down the mountain. By this time, the mtn. was closed so the Ski Patrol was patiently waiting for us, to escort us down. We were pretty much with the Aspen royalty so they were ready to take care of us. We all skied beautifully down the mtn., laughing the entire way. I'm telling you.........I still can't believe that afternoon!!

Friday night, we hit up a cool Aspen nightclub, Belly Up, which has live music. Playing that night was a Rolling Stones cover band. I'm not a RS fan but they were fun!! We got a table, which is much like in Vegas where you pay a hefty fee for a table and you get X amt. of bottles (vodka was our poison). We were still thirsty, so we drank more, and more. Somehow, someway, we ended up at our new friend's house for breakfast. More music and dancing commenced and here's where I go "gray"................ what I DO know is that I was a good boy.

That reminds me..........in the Willamette Week article this week --

Click here: Willamette Week | Thursday, March 13th, 2008 -- I was called a "former party boy" and I've gotten tons of "S" for it. I also got scolded by pseudo-publicist gal for the slip of the "S" word. I was a little concerned that KGW wouldn't dig it but they were cool with it, so it's all good. If you're still reading this, you deserve a medal. This is the longest blog I've done and honestly, I could keep writing more and more about what's ahead for PDXposed, Aspen, our trip to Ocean Shores, WA, this weekend, my BIG BAND GIG ON 3/21, etc..........but I won't. I will end this dissertation and say THANK YOU for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.

Have a great weekend and but of course.................Make good memories, everybody!!

jon

2008-03-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

Time for another update. Last week was absolutely crazy and not all in a good way. Our beloved Julie's brother died after heart complications last Tuesday and it's very sad. He left behind an adoring wife and two kids and he was only 42. It's just not right and our hearts are heavy for our friend Julie and their family. If you know Julie, she always appreciates a kind word, so please drop her a line...... julie@pdxposed.com

We are heavy into the benefit season and we filmed two last week. The DoveLewis benefit and the Nicolle Shops Portland benefit. Both were very different but very fun and the segments should be pretty cool. Going TO the DoveLewis Emergency Animal Hospital was a unique and fun experience. I think I'd rather get sick there than a normal people hospital! Did you know........."they" say the worst place to get sick is in a hospital. It's true and after seeing my mother almost die a few years ago after being admitted with a simple strep infection, I believe it. NEVER trust only 1 Dr's opinion. I was in medical sales for 14 years and I trust nurses much more than Dr's! Just my food for thought for the day.

I've been scolded by my pseudo publicist for letting the cat out of the bag regarding a possible move to Fox. She tells me to keep my big trap shut until a deal is inked so I will just say that it is inevitable that you'll soon see PDXposed on broadcast TV very soon. There is much to be done to bring you a weekly show, as we do everything in the field. We have no studio so that's why you see us all over town, on site somewhere, filming all that fun and positive content that you dig. As I keep saying, please stay tuned. It's all good stuff happening, I promise!

I'm packing tonight for my trip to Aspen tomorrow. I've never been there and I'm an avid skier, though being the priciest ski resort/town/village in the US, it's rarely even entered our discussions about places to go. UNLESS.........you have a friend who does weather for CNN who gets lots of cool free "stuff" like a free condo, free lift passes and free ski rentals. Now just how do you expect me to turn down an offer like that? He's had some very colorful banter with the Aspen PR chick (I mean that in all good ways, chick!) so I know we'll have a great time and they'll take good care of us, I'm sure. I NEED this break as things with PDXposed have been intense, in all good ways! I won't even get into the Ferrari and Wine Goers gig but just know that we're about to get super busy! My pseudo publicist, "Carla" we'll call her, would be so proud!

Spring Training is here for the Mariners! The college basketball tourney is only a couple weeks away! I get updates on the NFL signings daily! And life is pretty good. By the way, I was at the Blazer-Laker game last Friday night and that was the best Blazer game I've seen since they beat Utah in the playoffs many harvests ago! The photo is moi with one of Portland's favorites -- Bill Schonely (longtime voice of the Blazers). And I thought life would end after the NFL..........

Have a great week and please stay healthy. Too damn many people are too damn sick! Until next time, I remain your humble blog servant!

Make good memories!!

Jon

2008-02-18T20:09:00.001-08:00

I know..............I'm back so quickly. Well I wanted to address a couple things. First, as I said in my previous post, it "appears" we have a deal sorted out with Fox and it does. Many of you took this as a done deal, and it is not. I'm meeting with them this Friday afternoon to finalize all details. I just wanted to be clear with you and maybe I wasn't though I did say "appears"!

Also, we worked on our demo for the Ferrari racing gig -- a lifestyles of the rich & famous, Ferrari racing style -- and I'm sharing it with you. Simply type this in to your browser http://www.vimeo.com/701443 (or click the link) and you can see what Josh, Mike and I worked on over the weekend. ALL footage is ours and it is a reminder to me what an amazing crew I work with. You even get to share in a taste of our lear jet day last Wednesday, thanks to Kevin (pictured above with me on the deck of Vapiano Vineyards in Walla Walla).

So much good stuff ahead for us and we're just taking things day by day. It's a lot more fun to have this kind of stuff to discuss, versus personal strife!! Personally, things are pretty good. I'm working out more, which is a must for my stress relief. I still can't understand how people don't work out regularly, for both physical & mental peace. I'm not judging, just know that if I didn't, I'd probably be in jail right now~!

Too much work for a Monday, which I typically hate, but today was pretty good.......so I'm gonna sign off. Enjoy the demo and I'll be back soon with more updates. THANK YOU for your time and I hope your week goes splendidly well!

Make Good Memories~
jon

2008-02-15T18:23:00.000-08:00

WOW! I don't even know where to start. I guess I'll start by saying our new Title Sponsor relationship officially began this month, with D'Vine Wine Distribution. These guys are awesome and the quality of each of their wines is top notch. Kevin Novack, the owner, is the most knowledgeable, passionate person I've ever met in the industry and it's fun learning about the business.

He and I flew (First Class baby!!) to St. Louis last week, where we got picked up in a stretch limo. I was asking..........do you roll like this ALL the time bro????? His answer was of course "No" but we had some very big meetings and he wanted us to get in the right frame of mind, especially considering that our first meeting was with Anthem Media Group who does the marketing for Ferrari of North America (yes.......that Ferrari!!). Our meeting couldn't have gone better and what came out of it is 3 things.

1. They want us to film 7 LeMans races this year, following Team Ferrari around, in the style of a "Ferrari Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous" and yes, they have a real budget for this. We find out this Wednesday if we get the gig. Needless to say, the races are in kick ass locations and we'll be hobnobbing with the drivers and the stars. Fingers crossed!

2. D'Vine will be one of 5 sponsors with their logo on the Ferrari race car. Actually, the logo will be that of our NEW show, Wine Goers (more to follow). With the sponsorship, we get treated like royalty at ALL LeMans races throughout the world, regardless of us filming or not. It's pretty damn cool, if I do say so myself!

3. Anthem will partner with us on Wine Goers and they have committed to getting us NATIONAL out of the gate and they've already had discussions with the Travel Channel, MOJO and other networks. They get a piece of the pie, only when we make money first, so it's a good relationship for both parties.

So.............our other meeting in St. Louie was with one of the top Argentinian Wine Distributors in the country. His name is Bill and we spend the entire day and evening with him, scratching out 4 Wine Goers shows in Argentina! I've always wanted to go to Argentina and this will certainly be the way to do it in style. Our goal with Wine Goers is to feature wine regions all over the world, of course including our phenomenal Pacific NW wines!

And speaking of..............this is crazy!!!!! On Wednesday, we boarded a LEAR JET with Kevin, his sales manager, John and took off for Washington Wine Country, high up in the Cascade Mountains. The #1 rated winery in WA in 2007 was Boudreaux Cellars and we did a feature on them. I finally got to see the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, WA (very cool place!!!) as Boudreaux Cellars was just 15 minutes north, HIGH up in the mountains. Was there snow you ask?? I've never seen so much and it was like a seen out of a movie as we pulled into the winery. The snow banks were higher than the car and we were going wine tasting???? Rob Newsom and his wife Tamara were wonderful and they showed their Southern hospitality by feeding us spit roasted chicken from their fireplace, after the shoot was complete. Rob played his guitar and we had him do a fun shoutout for PDXposed & Wine Goers. It was a surreal day and when Josh, Mike and I got home, we had to pinch ourselves that it actually happened. The Lear Jet had us back in Portland in 32 minutes (520 mph ground speed!!). Wait 'til you see that segment! Wow, wow, wow!!

And last but certainly not least.........it appears we have ink'd our deal with FOX, to begin airing April 5th, 11:30pm on PDX49!! We're going to do a 13 week trial run and see how we "fit" with each other and then who knows where it might go. I'm excited for our sponsors and our friends who've been with us all the way. We're finally going the broadcast route! A new show every week is a monumental task for us, so we need to raise some more money to cover costs. Calgon, take me away.....................but yes, these are good challenges to have.

Time to get cleaned up for a Friday night on the town. I'm feeling on top of the world and in a celebratory mood. If you care to join us, we're filming Justin Jude tomorrow night at the Alberta St. Ale House (10th & Alberta). He won the Portland Songwriters Competition last year, which is a prestigious honor considering the amazing music talent in Portland.

Keep the faith and please...............make good memories!!

jon

2008-01-29T13:20:00.000-08:00

I need a break from my day and not to mention the weather sux so why not blog? When is the last time you changed from one credit card to another and had to go to all your creditors to give them the new digits? Ugh!! It sucks, took me over 30 minutes to do it with Comcast and I for one do not think it should be such a pain in the ass. I do understand protecting one's identity and making sure it's you making the change but for God's sake...............it's done though, so it's all good.

Oh, and hello. How's it goin? This last week has been a true roller coaster ride for me and I'm not gonna lie to you, it's been rough. The good stuff is that our new Title Sponsor, D'Vine Wines is officially on board as of this Friday, though we've already begun working with them. It will be nice to have a little financial stability for a bit but we could use more. We've come to the conclusion that Portland is one of the most challenging places in the world to do business, even for locals. Why is this, we don't know. It just is! Nobody wants to pay for anything and for some reason, they're getting away with this feeble minded approach. Hence.........PDXposed hitting the road. Another good thing is that our trip to Hawaii is now officially in the books. We have our rooms booked at the Sheraton Waikiki and our airline tickets booked on Hawaiian Airlines, so it's officially a go. If you want to see our TV commercial, promoting the trip, go to
http://www.vimeo.com/645228 and you'll see it. Guess you'll have to cut and paste, sorry.

On a "real" note, I've been pretty down, due to my breakup with Lisa. That's about all I'm gonna say about that, other than I owe her an apology for ever bringing her into this blog. Sorry Lisa darlin! The older you get, the more challenging breakups are, regardless of reasons. It's been a time for self reflecting though, which can't hurt. My lifestyle has been crazy the past few years and I can totally see how actors/musicians/entertainers can let their lives get out of hand. There's not much reality in most of it and with nothing getting your ass out of bed every day, you (I) can party too much and really do anything in too much excess. I'm trying to reel things in a bit and get back to who I really am. Kinda deep, huh? Sorry, it's what's happening in my life right now and after all, this is a damn blog, right?!

I'm off to Phoenix Thursday to hook up with Rob and Paulie for PGA/Super Bowl weekend. Yeah, like I really need 5 days of hardcore partying after what I just wrote. Well, it's a good opportunity for me to practice some moderation, now isn't it? I'll do my best and that's all we can ever ask of ourselves. Next week, Kevin from D'Vine and I go to St. Louis to meet with a couple very influential types regarding our new show, Wine Go-ers, so the next couple weeks are action packed, which is good because I'm bored off my ass today.

Guess it's a good time to sign off and head to the gym. Working out is the best thing I do for myself and without it, I'd definitely be the poster child for "going postal"! Have a great week and I'll leave you with a blog from a lovely lady I met in Hawaii in December. She was there with her husband and we all went boating on the Pacific together. This made me feel good so thank you, Nancy -- http://bookfoolery.blogspot.com/2008/01/babble-break-tale-of-snorkeling.html

Make good memories!! jon ps.....the pic is moi with the kick ass Seahawks Drumline (football theme!)

2008-01-15T14:17:00.001-08:00

Wow what a difference a day makes in this biz. I can't tell you how crazy the ups and downs are in this business but I can definitely see why people go crazy! Today is all about Hawaii, and trying to get a Pendleton show (one PDXposed episode) off the ground. You might say, why the hell Pendleton, OR? Don't they just have the Pendleton Round-up, nothing else? Oh no........they have one of the best and coolest steakhouses in the world, Hamley Steakhouse, featured on our Walla Walla Show, but Hamley has much more than that and we could do 1/2 a show on just their building which takes up a city block. There's also a large casino, artists, and much more........

I still can't believe you read my blog. I did however learn that "blogging" has become one of the top 10 NEW buzz words. Ten years ago, even 5, nobody knew what it meant and I think I'm actually (finally) getting the jist. Another new word, to describe those of us who dig wine tasting at wineries/vineyards, is WINE-GO'ER! Why do I tell you this you ax.........because that is the name of a new TV show that our new title sponsor, D'Vine Wine Distribution (Kevin) wants us to co-produce. Kevin and I are flying off to St. Louis in a few weeks to begin a deal with the Travel Channel and Ferrari, so this could really heat up quickly. In the meantime, PDXposed will stay alive and healthy in Portland. We'll also be discussing our June trip to Argentina while in St. Louis, so...........it could get fun.

Julie organized a great party at The City Sportsbar last weekend and we had a perfect attendance. We gave away some very sweet prizes (weekend in Vegas, at the Coast, etc.....) and also debuted our January show on the massive big screen. It's a good show so if you've not checked it out, shame on you! We also FINALLY filmed a Blazer game and did all the behind the scenes stuff which was SO interesting, as you'll see in February. FLOATER will be our featured band on that show and I will tell you that I've never seen the Crystal Ballroom so F'g CRAZY as it was that night. They have amazing (& rabid!) fans and their music has endured the test of time (since '93) for a good reason! Should be an entertaining show, which will also include our time at the newly reopened Grand Central Bowl!

Off to a meeting with Fred Meyer, which is a whole different can of worms. Have a good week and be checking in with us so you can join us in Hawaii. The dates are SET...........May 7 - 15. My best to you, always........

Make Good Memories~

jon

2008-01-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

Happy 2008 Everybody!!

I hope you each had a wonderful Holiday Season. I went home to South Dakota and actually had a white Christmas, as it snowed exactly at midnight on Christmas Eve/Christmas morning, and it was one of those gorgeous, majestic snows so that was really cool. But........you all had much more snow here in Portland so I'm kinda sorry I missed that but not really. I moved here almost 14 years ago to come to the moderate climate, not the extremes! Global warming, which my buddy Rob (CNN Weather Man) doesn't seem to believe in, has changed that pretty dramatically and our temps have been all over the place in the past few years, getting more extreme every year.

But...............it was great to land back in my beloved Portland, always good to get home to "my home"! We have tons planned in '08 and we're kicking it off this Friday with a show watch party at The City Sportsbar (4th and Washington in downtown Portland). Julie has busted her ass to make this party happen. We'll be showing our NEW January show (big band segment, Portland Winterhawks, Col. River Day Spa, and the Oregon Music Hall of Fame). We'll also be giving away some great prizes, including a weekend at the Oregon Coast. Please join us from 6pm to 8pm, this Friday, JAN. 4th, at The City!! We'll be providing some eats and The City will extend their happy hour until 8pm for our guests. Should be fun!

We ARE going to Hawaii and we ARE inviting family and friends to join us. We'll have everybody book their travel through All About Hawaii and we hope to get you all some killer discounts. Just tune into the website or this blog for further updates. The dates are May 8th thru the 15th. We will have a few group activities for all of us but the trip is mainly for YOU to come and enjoy yourself in paradise. I love Waikiki and it's my favorite beach in the world and yes, I have been to many!

We'll be traveling a lot this year and are likely to air on FOX very soon, so many changes are ahead of us. Hang on for the ride and thank you for your support of PDXposed. It's been such a a labor of love and I speak for Josh, Julie, Mike and I when I say we're ready to take this gig to the next level! As always, please keep fun and positive show ideas comin' and we I personally with you a kick ass 2008!!

Make Good Memories in 2008!!

jon

2007-12-15T15:57:00.000-08:00

ALOHA from Hawaii! I'm sitting here at a cool pub just off the beach in my favorite beach in the world, Waikiki. True, I know there are better ones, but for some reason, I just dig this one, so much activity, aqua aqua and lots of good people watching. Why am I here, you ask? Because we are going to be filming "PDXposed Goes Hawaii" in May of 2008 and I'm over here on a scouting trip. My buddy from All About Hawaii Travel (Portland travel agency) hooked me up with free air via Hawaiian Airlines (nonstop to Honolulu from PDX!) and free hotel, Sheraton Waikiki, right on the beach! So I'm over here meeting with tons of potential sponsors, raising money, and checking out different things to feature.

I have been working my tail off BUT having fun along the way too, of course. After all, our show is about fun right? I have also met some uber cool people. Steve from Kona Brewing is a kick ass guy and we've become buddies. He invited me to his house tomorrow night for his wife's birthday BBQ which is a perfect way to spend a Sunday night. He is also committed to making these shows happen and is gonna be a huge help. Last night, I hung out with the head chef from world famous DUKE'S, which was a blast. Talk about networking.......he's "The Man" in Oahu! He offered me free Pro Bowl tickets and entry into all the swanky events, hanging with the top studs of the NFL.........how cool is that?!?! I'm going to try to make that happen, but I'll be in Phoenix the weekend before that with Rob and Paul (buddy who lived with me for 5 years in Portland, now lives in Scottsdale), for the Superbowl, so we'll see. Sounds pretty cool, though eh?

So, here's the deal..............we are going to put together a GROUP TRIP TO HAWAII, which will be a great opportunity for friends and family to join us and see what we do and how we do it. The dates are looking like May 7-15, 2008 so if you have any interest in joining us, please get in touch with us. We'll be posting all the information on our website and travel will be booked through All About Hawaii Travel. We'll have a package with airfare/hotel & activities, some with us as we film. It will be fun and we'd love to have as many of you as possible join us. Stay tuned!

Off to the beach to have some fun and enjoy the sun. Mahalo for your time and I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season! For those of you in Portland, my big band's holiday show is next Friday night (12/21) and we have a special show on the following Sunday as well (23rd) and it's 90% holiday tunes, specially rehearsed for YOU, so please join us at Tony Starlights. For more info..... www.bureauofstandardsbigband.com. I'll be singing a solo with a famous pianist, Bo Ayers, who played for Elvis, Barbara, etc........ He ROX!

Aloha and hoping you are making good memories!

Jon

2007-12-04T14:55:00.000-08:00

Happy between holidays!

I got a little scolded by Lisa for my last blog, not complimentary enough towards her. So here goes.............she's amazing, perfect in every way, the queen of my heart and the love of my life. Oh, and we really don't have sex (she doesn't want me talking about our sex life). How's that honeypiezls? Truly, she is pretty f'g cool and I'm enjoying our relationship. So there's that update.

Much is happening with PDXposed, most all of it is good. This show just won't die, has a life of its own, which is quite intriguing and satisfying at the same time. I guess it shows you that if you produce a high quality TV show, focusing on only positive and fun, people will dig it. That was our intention from day 1 and if you've been crazy enough to catch all 67 episodes, you know we've stuck to our guns on this. No matter what our subject is, we keep it positive and fun. And speaking of................we are close to signing a Title Sponsor contract for 12 months, which will ensure more good times for another year. We're also working on possibly airing on a major network in 2008. There's so much up in the air, but it's all good, so as usual............stay tuned peeps! Thank God for Calgon..................and yes, I do take lots of baths to soothe my aching muscles and brain, which never stops damnit!

Josh, our star editor, just did a cool thing for me -- made a You Tube link of the big band that I'm singing with. Some of you have seen the show and know it's quite entertaining. The coolest thing for me to see is the variety of ages at the show. This big band stuff really seems to please everybody and it's a hoot. Here's a link and a little snipit of what it's all about, courtesy of Josh Martin............... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aF6eBtTNXM ................... that should work and if it doesn't and you want to see it, just drop me an email and I'll make sure you get it........ jon@pdxposed.com. We have a Christmas Show on 12/21 & 12/23 so if you're into holiday music, definitely come to that. I'm singing a solo with a superstar pianist (The Christmas Song) who has played with Elvis, Barbara Streisand, Liberace and he also coordinated the holiday show for Radio City Music Hall in NYC. This guy is HUGE, so definitely come to hear him at least! For more info........ Click here: The BUREAU of STANDARDS BIG BAND .

So.........off to get some stuff done before rehearsal tonight. For my buddies at the Oregon Coast, I hope you are all safe and well. The power and phone lines are out down there due to the massive storm, so my thoughts are with you all! Happy rest of your week to you all and I'll write soon with more updates.

Make good memories!!

Naughtlz (does this mean I'm getting coal, Lisa?)

2007-11-26T11:09:00.000-08:00

Happy Post Thanksgiving!

Hope you all had a chill one like me. I went down to the Oregon Coast and spent one night at Lisa's pad in Cannon Beach and then two nights at the infamous Hotel Elliot in Astoria. We spent Thanksgiving with Chris Holen and his famdamily which was great. Chris is the chef who was instrumental in that new adventure travel/cooking show, which still sits on the shelf. We both got burned out after getting burned (not intentionally) by Fusion Entertainment. It was a long process which went nowhere which was a total bummer. We'll see...............might still have some legs in the future.

Who's Lisa you ask? Well.........remember the girl I was dating about last year at this time? We had a nasty break-up...............yeah, that's the one. We met up on July 30th (she remembers) to discuss exactly what happened to us and to clear the air. I'm a big one on closing one door so another can open and that's what I needed, considering the bullshit that happened last February and NO, I'm not going back into it here! We both agreed that neither of us gave the relationship a chance, which is completely true, and that we were on two completely different sides of the earth at that time, so there was no possible way for "us" to work. We also agreed that we do have some things in common and that we should be friends. That's how it started. Then of course sex...........which is really good between us (always was!!).................then we had some fun as a couple.................and here we are. She's met some of my favorite people and they seem to like her, so we'll see where it goes. I'm not in any hurry to rush into anything but I am enjoying her company and I'm happy being with just her. So there you have my personal update du jour~

Regarding PDXposed.......................we ARE on www.pdxposed.com and also on Comcast Digital Cable's On Demand. But for you out-of-towners that watch us, the web is still the best place and will be for the length of our show, which remains to be seen. It seems to have a life of its own but it's also a tremendous amount of work for not so much pay. China is still up in the air, but we do have some commitments that will take us at least into the middle of 2008. It is my intention at this point, to phase the show out around that time. I expect that my production company and I will have other "things" keeping us busy. I'm personally working on it and am craving more stability in my life, starting in 2008. If you've read my blog, you know this is a must...........moving forward.

Have a great week and I hope your holiday month goes smoothly. Remember that we ALL get more sensitive around this time and remember to give your family and friends a break if they act like assholes. I say that to myself as much as I say it to you. And if I act like an ass, for those friends and family who are reading this, get off my ass, damnit. Kidding of course.

Love and peace to you all, and as always.............

Make good memories everybody!

Jon

2007-11-06T21:41:00.000-08:00

Hello again, my friends.................hello.................sounds like a song, eh? Well, as you may know, CNW14 is now "black." This is really the best thing that could have happened for us as it has forced us to really pursue other and better options. For now, we are on Comcast Digital Cable's On Demand, on our website, MySpace.com, U-Tube, etc..................BUT.....................we are also pursuing other options, including airing on one of the main networks in Portland, even have the possibility to air nationally. Of course, our name would change, but our format would not have to change. We've demonstrated that we can drop into any city in the world and duplicate "what we do"! Many options ahead of us and one of those options, to be honest, is to just let PDXposed fly off into the sunset. It's been a lot of fun but also a lot of work and for all of us involved, something MUST change, moving forward. As I said, it's a good place to be. Change is inevitable.

I personally have some other options for employment and I'm considering them as well. A couple of them are directly related to this crazy TV/Entertainment biz. A couple are not. I'm craving some stability in my life, which I've not had in the past 3 years. This is a horribly boring posting and I apologize for that. I just don't have the gift of gab tonight. And speaking of, did you know.......................the purpose of kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland is so you'll get the gift of gab! I've actually kissed it but I thought it was for good luck. What an idiot I am. How I found out you asked? We filmed that Irish Music in Ocean Shores as you know and that was one of the questions. Oh shit, did I already tell you this. It's age and tiredom, damnit. Back off!!

Have a great rest of your week and keep tuned for changes in the life of PDXposed and my old, sorry ass. Thanks and make good memories~

jon

2007-10-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

Off to Ocean Shores, WA, to film a partial episode of PDXposed. Why partial you ax? Because this weekend is a rockin' Irish Music Festival that only happens once a year and the City of Ocean Shores wants us to film it, along with the beach activities, which clearly are not happening this weekend. Being 50% Irish, you don't have to beg me to go listen to Irish Music and drink whiskey and beer all weekend. I'm predicting a "tight helmet" after the weekend. Ever heard that one?

Just finished our current episode of PDXposed Goes Germany (Munich show) yesterday and it's better than I expected. It should be up on our website by Friday so check it out and let me know what you think. This is the LAST WEEK ON CNW14, and from now now, we'll be exclusively on Comcast On Demand and on www.pdxposed.com. We are in talks with Portland's CW so we'll see what happens there but for now..........it is what it is. Stay tuned for our trip to China updates as well, had another conversation today about the trip and it's looking positive.

I know you all feel really bad for me about my pathetic (PATHETIC!!) Huskers. I went to the Oklahoma St. game two weeks ago and literally laughed my way through the game, a dark day I thought I'd never see in Nebraska. My buddies Jay & Tawnya (on our 2nd Sapporo trip/show!) got married that weekend and had a lovely ceremony and kick ass reception so the game was dwarfed in comparison and importance to that. Jay asked me and my buddy Dodge to play trumpet in their wedding at the last minute, so we worked up a cool fanfare for Tawnya to walk down the grass aisle to, and people seemed to dig it. Rob flew in from Atlanta for the shindig so you know what that meant -- tea totling -- not!

So much up in the air with my life right now and seemingly many of yours too, that I have no idea where I'll land. I just know I have kick ass friends and family and that's what's most important. Just got back from Denver (went to Sunday night game of Broncos vs. Steelers) and had a blast with Dan. My brother, Jason, and my nephew, Trae, came in from South Dakota (BIG Steeler fans!!) so that was fun to see them. I'm still deciding on whether to go home for Christmas. It's expensive and such a pain in the ass to travel during the holidays but not seeing my family and SD friends sucks too, so ...... any thoughts?

Time to watch the World Series. I'm torn on whom to root for but I do feel it's gonna be a good series so that should be fun. Take care. Have FUN and be safe! Thanks for reading.

Make good memories, always and often!

Jon

2007-10-10T10:42:00.000-07:00

What's happening world? A lot has been happening with me and with PDXposed but what's new, right? If you've tuned into PDXposed or www.pdxposed.com, then you know that our first GERMANY show is airing now! The first episode is from Frankfurt and if you've ever been to Frankfurt, this show just may surprise you. It's pretty good. Our Munich show is next and it should be up around the first part of November so stay tuned.

Staying with the travel theme, the crew just got back from a magical trip to Walla Walla, WA! We went there to do a full 30-minute show, featuring the emerging wine country. A few years ago, there were only a handful of wineries there, and now, there are well over 100, so you can imagine the growth in this community. It was amazing and we are all still speechless, at how wonderful the people are and how fantastic the wines are too! One of the biggest surprises, however, was the world class hotel we stayed at -- the Marcus Whitman Hotel. Google it.........trust me, it's gorgeous. When you're there, you might just as well be in New York City or San Francisco, but NO........you're in Walla Walla! Another highlight which blew us away was the Hamley Steakhouse in Pendleton, OR (40 min. away). It was so killer that we are now talking to the city of Pendelton (today actually) about doing a full episode there. We have so many wonderful subjects to feature in the Pacific NW = endless! One more travel note.........we are likely going to CHINA next year. The Suzhou Sister City President, Lynne, just returned from a very successful trip there and she says it's likely "a go"! I'd go over with Lynne in February to meet our hosts and to view our shoot locations and most importantly, to secure the contract and payment for the trip. Then the crew of 4 would go in either late April or mid May. We'll spend 2 weeks there and it is sure to be a phenomenal trip.

Now to get a little personal................does anybody know a good SINUS DOCTOR in the Portland area? I've had the worst sinus problems, worse than normal, since Japan. I'm not sure if I caught a nasty bird flu virus over there and it's still lingering or what, but I just can't seem to shake it. It doesn't knock me out but it's definitely nagging me and bringing me down. If you do, please email me ......... jon@pdxposed.com! Thanks. Keeping it personal, I'm really digging the big band. I get nervous before performances which is kinda fun and kinda scary, but so far, I've pulled it off. The band is super cool and if you even sorta like big band music, you MUST come to one of our shows. It's exactly that = a show! Portland/Vancouver has nothing like it and even my friends who I'd never expect would like it, LOVE IT! So, our next show is next Friday, October 19th. Then I'm off to Denver to hang with my best bro since I was 5 (!), Dan to watch the Bronco-Steeler Sunday Night Game. I've been traveling quite a bit lately. Oh, and tomorrow, I go to Nebraska to see my dear friends Jay & Tawnya (remember them from our Sapporo trip????) get married and to catch a Husker game. Yeah, I know, the Huskers suck ass, but the games are still fun. Rob is meeting me, got off CNN for a couple days, and it will be his first Husker game in Lincoln, so it's gonna be a ragin party..........like I frickin need that?!

Dentivision ...... stay tuned for an update on that, which could change my life, or not!?!?

Portland's CW ....... stay tuned for that too, many possibilities and we met yesterday.

So, that's it from the damp and chilly Rose City. Thanks for reading this you guys and gals. And thanks for watching our show. We do have fun but we also do bust our butts to make it good and your appreciation makes it all worth the while. Thank you!

Make Good Memories, every day!

Jon

2007-09-17T20:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, Ok, Ok....................I'm sorry but it's not my fault. As you know we went to Germany and I fully expected to have good computer access, but NOT the case. It sucked and I felt completely stifled with communication, not just with the blogging as I promised........with all of it. I was barely able to keep up with emails and had to use the hotel lobby's computer (1 computer for all hotel guests with a "German keyboard" which was tons of fun, or not!). I am sorry that I've been absent for so long but I really do have a legitimate excuse, I promise!

SO...........how was Germany, you ask. It was a very challenging trip. The weather completely sucked the entire time -- cold and wet, which was not the forecast. Neither Josh, Mike nor I was prepared for that, nor were our nice German hosts. We had to completely adjust our schedule so it was a cluster pretty much the whole time. Also, unlike Japan, we had to get ourselves around most of the time (had drivers only 2 days), and that really takes a lot out of you, especially with equipment. I'm used to taking their wonderful rail systems while on vacation, but not hauling equipment and two crew members. None of us felt well the entire trip and we were all eager to get back to home sweet home - Portland!

I know.........I sound like a whiny little bitch but it's what we experienced. Now, of course we had some good times and met some really wonderful people. Every guide/interpreter was super cool and that made it much nicer for us. They all understood our plight with the weather and helped us adjust accordingly. They were probably the highlight of my trip. The most surprising aspect of the trip was how cool Frankfurt was. I remember it as very gray and industrial, but we saw a very different city this time. They say that they are a city of extreme contrasts and that is very true. It's a very international city and the financial center of mainland Europe so you can imagine the variety of people. There were many similarities to Portland, with it's many bridges and the rivers that separate the city. Germany is also very "green" much like Portland. They're really into recycling and conservation which is cool. The most challenging (okay, negative) aspect.............the Germans are very focused on one way of doing things and it's their way. They seem very incapable of thinking outside the box but if you give them a list, believe me, it will get done well!

Now we focus on the future of PDXposed. Right now, we're leaning towards staying on Comcast's On Demand and of course airing all shows on our website. You know I'll let you know when we know. I promise to get back on a semi-decent blogging schedule, now that we're back in our beloved homeland! Thanks for reading and I also promise more exciting "tidbits" in my next blog. I'm writing this as I watch Monday Night Football -- have 3 guys going on my fantasy football team and am barely hanging on to the lead now, so hey..........please appreciate the multi-tasking, okay?!

Cheers to you all and as always, make good memories!

jon

2007-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

What can I say............been super busy. I know, pathetic excuse and I hate when I ask somebody "How are you" and they say, "busy"! But it's true damnit. Just got back from my fantasy football draft in Las Vegas. OH MY GOD, that town is crazy. We had 10 guys from all over the country and let's just say that we ripped it up. YES, there were a few "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas" stories, but none for me. I'm serious! I was a good boy, still nursing a bullshit sinus infection and really, I went down there to hang out with my boys. What a fun, eclectic group. You're probably dying to know whom I picked for my fantasy team. Ok, I'll oblige.......had the 4th pick and took Shaun Alexander (total homer pick as Manning was still available). My team is going to be ok. You never know. We have another draft for a Portland league this Friday night. For those of you who are lost, sorry. I move on though I could talk fantasy football for hours!

Germany is just around the corner and we're finalizing our itinerary. What a pleasure it's been to work with Lufthansa Airlines and the German National Tourist Office in NYC. They are "on it"! Our Japanese hosts were wonderful too, just a different way of preparing for our German trip. Good news for moi.........I DO get to go to my favorite city in the world (auf der Welt, in German), SALZBURG! I made sure that we have Saturday afternoon (9/8) off so Josh, Mike and I are taking the train from Munich to Salzburg to spend the afternoon and early evening. German Rail gave us complimentary First Class rail vouchers, so we get there in style and it's free -- both very good options! This trip might be our last big hurrah on PDXposed, might not be. We're still working on our options for November 1 and beyond.

I'm in Seattle now to see one of my all-time favorites, Michael Buble! He is who really inspired me to get into a big band and now...........I'm in. I'll try to attach the photo of our big band but it may not download so if not that one, then possibly cute little Ana Holen, the baby of my co-host for our NEW show (www.tastynorthwest.com). She's adorable, as you will see on this or my next blog. So, we have the Svardh's in town and there are 12 of us going to the concert tonight. Let's just say that the Svardh's are no "tea-totelers" (sp?). Ok they party their asses off and they've been married for many years, still super happy and best friends. I love hanging out with happily married people, who still like each other. It gives me hope. And, it's safe to say that tomorrow, their ways will give me a hangover. I did a cross country trip with them in their RV, across America, last summer and had an absolute blast with them and their 3 year old, Alik. They now have a new daughter too, but tonight, it's just us and 9 others, celebrating the incredible sounds of Vancouver, Canada's own, Michael Buble.

Time to prefunk! Until next time, make good memories everybody!

Jon

2007-08-18T15:51:00.000-07:00

Thank you, TATY from BRAZIL, who not only reads the blog but watches PDXposed, online no doubt. Very cool, Taty........have you seen our Brazil Grille restaurant segment? It's a great Portland restaurant and can be viewed on Episode 48, which can be viewed by clicking on "To view past episodes, click here" and then click on "Video library......." then scroll to Episode 48. Thanks again for watching all the way from Brazil, a country I very much want to visit.

So, to the blogging........I've been sick with another lovely sinus infection this week. Pretty much haven't left the house since Wednesday after returning from our shoot for The Tasty Northwest demo. The Portland Business Journal did a story on moi and this new show and the headline read, "TV Producer Believes His New Show Will Really Cook." If we can find the right home for it which I feel we can, then I absolutely think this show will cook bigtime. We'll be the only show of its kind nationally, combining all the great things about travel and cooking shows. Trust me, you'll love it. All for now on that.

I do have some other news which at this point, I (we at PDXposed) don't really know how to process yet. CNW14 is going black on November 1st. That means the entire network is going away, which means we'll no longer be on CNW14. We will still have the option of airing On Demand. It completely depends on how many promos we get from Comcast to promote us On Demand and we should know something within a couple weeks. We have some pretty major decisions to make. We need to consider our sponsors' needs so that will be the determining factor since they pay the bills. I will let you know, as I know, what our future holds.

In the meantime, we move on with Germany in two weeks and more new shows ahead. Since we'll be gone for a couple weeks in Deutschland, we're getting way ahead and getting shows done into the end of September. Michael Allen Harrison C0-hosts the next show with me, from Bridgeport Village and he did a great job so please tune into that new episode next Friday. The photo is of him playing last Thursday at the BV Summer Concert Series (coolest MC gig I've ever had!!). Following that show is our 3rd show from Astoria (famous broken ball incident) which has some pretty fun stuff on it. We'll keep you entertained for the time being and for who knows how much longer?? Should I be telling you all this Comcast stuff or should I be tight-lipped until we have concrete information and direction? Aww, screw it........I'm pretty much and open book as you know and if you're taking the time to read this, you deserve the truth.

I'm off to the gym to sweat and hopefully continue the healing process with this sinus crap that I've had to deal with my whole life (thanks for the great genes, relatives!). Storm Large plays tonight at the Wonder Ballroom and I'm hoping to catch at least a bit of her show. Jules and I are on the guest list and as you know, PDXposed loves Storm. Gotta support our peeps right? Not that she needs it but she's damn good and fun to watch!

Have a good one, be healthy but have FUN! Life's too short to take shit too seriously. Eat some good food. Drink some good wine!

Make good memories~

Jon

2007-08-05T14:13:00.000-07:00

So, I got scolded by Julie about my last posting, but it stands. I DO have an edge to me and I'm not Mr. Positive all the time, unlike what we do on PDXposed. When I started the show, I made the promise to only do fun & positive TV! I think we've accomplished that task quite well, but.....we all have an edgy side and I have quite the edge, bordering on naughty. What can I say, it's who I am.

I have to tell you that if you've not yet been to the Bridgeport Village Thursday night Summer Concert Series, you're missing out. It's such a gorgeous setting and the music has all been fantastic. This Thursday, PDXposed is filming Michael Allen Harrison, one of Portland's favorite musicians (fabo piano player!!). He'll be featured, along with Bridgeport Village, on our August 24th show. Speaking of shows, Comcast really F'd up the airing of our current show (with Storm Large). Both Friday and Saturday's airing was a bust. I thought we were behind that crap with CNW14, but I guess not. Oh well, everybody makes mistakes, but it still sucks. Julie called me both nights, mortified and very pissed/embarrassed. My blood boiled but I'm chillin today so it's all good.

Is anybody else getting all tingly about the fact that football season is upon us?!! I went in on Seahawks season tickets again with my buddy Greg. I absolutely LOVE going to Pro Football games and have become a big Hawks fan. And of course, fantasy football is also upon us. If you haven't ever done it and you even kinda like football, you've got to try it. It makes every play of every game fun to watch. I'm Commissioner of our league this year, since I won last year, and we'll be doing our draft in Vegas. No, you don't have to go to Vegas, but it's too much damn fun not to. A bunch of guys hanging out, partying our asses off, talking football all weekend, trash talking each other = FUN! You can pretty much count on fantasy football updates on this blog. As Commissioner, I'm implementing a new category for weekly payouts -- trash talker of the week on our website. I may, but probably can't, put the weekly winner on here, so you can get a flavor of how much crap we give each other. It's a blast.

I really haven't said much in this, have I? Are you really reading this? I don't think I would but hey, who am I to judge?! Time to get preparing my traditional Sunday night dinner, steak and baked potato. It's how I roll. Sunday night dinners were always a big deal at my home, growing up in SoDak, a tradition I have kept. Even though I live alone, I still crave a nice big Sunday night dindin! Hope your weekend was great and I thank you for your time.

Make Good Memories~

JON

2007-07-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, we had our first PDXposed casualty, some furniture in the Banker's Suite in Astoria. Mike sat on one of those exercise balls, which was expensively covered in fancy frills and ripped the cover. Some loser also told on us in Astoria, saying we had a crazy party in the suite, which honestly, wasn't true. The true part is we did end up there every night, drinking and listening to tunes, late into the evening. Come on.............if you google this "sweet suite" you'll see why. It would be like going to Hershey, PA, and not having chocolate. Oh well, Mike, you fat ass, stop sitting on shit and breaking it. OK, if you've seen Mike, he's a skinny Minnie, but he still broke it, so to show the Banker's Suite how seriously we take this news, I'm officially telling Mike on this blog that he's no longer invited to Germany. It was Josh's idea.

So, how HOT is Miss Oregon 2007? Very, is the answer. Shel and I co-hosted a segment last Friday at The Venue on MLK, a big fashion event, and we got the privilege to interview several hotties, including Miss Oregon 2007, who by the way, got all fashion trivia questions correct. She's not only attractive, but smart. Trust me, this young lady just might have a shot at the big dance. Watch out for her!!

If you haven't been to the Bridgeport Village Summer Concert Series, every Thursday night at Bridgeport Village, you're missin out! First of all, this outdoor "mall" (for lack of a more suitable term at this point in my evening) is phenomenal. Hate to say it but it belongs in Beverly Hills or Scottsdale and it not only has great shopping but also tasty restaurants. So, that coupled with fantastic live music every Thurs. from 6:30 to 8:30 is a very entertaining combination. Check out.........concerts last through the end of August. Shel and I are MC'g. By the way, Shel is pissed that she can't wear heels when we're on camera together (inside scoop). She's taller than I and I'm just not into playing the Billy Joel/Christie Brinkley thing on camera, damnit!

Alright, in conclusion, you MUST watch Flight of the Conchords on HBO!! It's the dryest, most random comedy I've seen in ages and it will take you an episode to "get it" but I assure you, it's worth it. Big Love is pretty darn good too. We all secretly want to have multiple lovers and have them all cool with it (but they can't have multiple -- I know, I'm a bastard but an honest bastard). Have a good rest of your week and thanks for your time my friends and readers and/or both!

Make Good Memories~

JON

ps.................speaking of fashion.............Disney should pay us for this photo!!

2007-07-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

I'm tryin.......I'm tryin, to keep things current, but with this insane schedule I've undertaken, it's a challenge folks. Not only do I have the fun duties of PDXposed, but I'm also heading up 3 other HUGE projects, so I'm pretty much in need of a "Calgon moment" 24/7 these days.

Speaking of PDXposed, we just returned from filming our 3rd show in Astoria. That place completely rocks and we had waaaaayyyyy to much fun. Google "The Banker's Suite" and that's where we stayed (most of us) the entire time. We also did some fun nightlife shoots and got some hilarious interviews which you'll enjoy!! Seaside Helicopters took us around the area for an extended flight/view of the area so all in all, this is gonna be a great show. It will air on 9/14 for the first time, right after we return from Germany.

So, our trip to Germany is booked. We leave on 9/3 and return on 9/12. Here are some of the highlights that we'll be filming................MUNICH (Hofbrauhaus, English Gardens/Outdoor Chinese Beer Garden, town of Murnau in the Bavarian Alps, the Glockenspiel, local brewery/restaurant, etc........FRANKFURT (the Zoo, Goethemuseum, city tour, 1st class terminal in airport -- supposed to be quite swanky!!). We are only taking Mike and Josh, so poor Jules has to stay home and hold down the fort, which is sad. Budgets dictate these things, damnit.

Will somebody please remind me that I'm not 21 anymore and that I can't party like a rockstar anymore?!! This lifestyle requires more sleep than I'm getting. It's those damn responsibilities the next day that keep creeping up on me. See you Friday night at the big fashion gig on 28th and MLK -- we're filming. Oh yeah, I'm also MC'g the Bridgeport Village Summer Concert Series every Thursday for the next 5, so please stop by out there. This is one hell of an outdoor shopping center, feels like it could be in Beverly Hills. The musical acts are gonna be awesome too, so check it out!

Still waiting for one of you to come up to me in public and take me up on my "buy you a beer" offer...........offer still stands! Have a great week and thanks for reading. The pic, btw, is of Shel and me on AM 1080 The Fan -- on our current episode of PDXposed, which you can watch right now online........... www.pdxposed.com!

Make good memories....................jon

2007-07-09T01:18:00.000-07:00

July 4th is beyond us and my liver, for one, is relieved. I went home to South Dakota to spend the holiday week with my family, which is always fun. But this time even moreso as my mom hosted a wedding reception for our newly elected US Congresswoman, Stephanie Herseth, whom I've known for years. She's a brilliant young woman and is so deserving of serving South Dakota and our country. Couldn't be happier for such a cool woman and we met her new husband, Max (20 years her senior) who is a total hoot. Loved that guy. We drank beer and talked about college sports. That's pretty much all ya need to get me in my comfort zone and he had a very nice family as well. It was fun to see Stephanie so happy and speaking of happy, we had very "special" privileged at the world-famous Mt. Rushmore Fireworks Display on July 3rd -- the premier display in the world that night! I've lived there for years but never went up for it because it was just too much of a hassle, people coming from all over the world. WELL...............thanks to Stephanie, we had a front and center seat at the base of the amphitheater, directly under the faces of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson and Teddy Roosevelt. The fireworks were indescribable and for a very rare moment, I felt proud to be an American, a feeling that I'd so sadly been missing the past 4 years. After the fireworks finale = WOW!! = we we quickly escorted by Park Police to our vehicles parked behind Mt. Rushmore and quickly placed in our cars in time for the POLICE ESCORT to take us all the way down the mountain, through Keystone and through thousands of other cars and people ...... all the way to the Highway which takes you straight to Rapid City. There were 5 cars in our motorcade, and we all felt special. It was AWESOME. What takes others 5 hours to get back, took us 25 minutes. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Heard it knockin.........took it, gladly!
As always, it was great to be of such help to my mom who entertains to the hilt and to see my family and their kids. I have 3 brothers, all married to cool chicks, and 9 nieces and nephews whom I adore. They're all so different, yet very loving and kind and respectful. Now THAT is so rare to see and I'm so proud that my family retains those values instilled in us!
Had a lovely travel day home, got bumped in Salt Lake City and got to Portland a day later only to drop my bags and run to Josh's so Mike, Josh and I could final post Show 61. Josh is really making some killer enhancements to our web video quality so please check in to www.pdxposed.com for the new "stuff"! We're off to film a 3rd episode in Astoria this Thursday - Sunday. We dig Astoria and I get to hang with my buddies, Chris, Jenn, Katie and crew. Always have fun in Astoria. Shouldn't you?
I'm scribing this far too late, esp. after an Ambien, so while I still can, I'm signing off! Happy post 4th of July and GO AMERICA!

Make Good Memories~

jon

2007-06-25T17:15:00.000-07:00

Greetings and salutations friends.
Do you hate Mondays as badly as I do? They pretty much always suck, usually because I've had a great weekend. This past weekend was no exception. Friday night, I got to live a dream and sing for a big band. Sure, I do karaoke, which you know if you watch the show, but I've never actually been the front guy in the swanky suit, singing my lungs away in front of a packed house. The band gets all dressed up in black suits or tuxes and we performed at Tony Starlights, a very cool venue for this genre of music. The house was packed for the first show (dinner show) and they really came alive for our music. I'm hoping to sing again with them, same locale, on Friday, July 27, so stay tuned! If you like the old Sinatra-esque style of music and performance, then you must check us out. It's a blast!
I've not been to a Mariners game in almost two years, so Saturday, I cruised up I-5 to see them take on the Reds. It was so awesome to see my favorite, Ken Griffey Jr., back in Seattle. The entire crowd at Safeco gave him standing applause when he was announced. I've been listening to national sports talk radio today and they seem perplexed why any fan would do that, considering that Griff left Seattle. Why, national media??? Because baseball is alive and well in Seattle and because Griffey pretty much built Safeco Field, one of the nicest professional stadiums you'll find, anywhere. We owe him and it was very cool to see him jack two HR's yesterday, in a LOSING effort. The Mariners took 2 of 3 from them, keeping their faint playoff hopes alive.
We're filming a fun band, Throwback Suburbia, tomorrow night at Outlaws (next to Doug Fir). They're one of the openers for one of my favorite all-time bands, the GIN BLOSSOMS!! Haven't heard from them in many years so it will be interesting to see if they still have it! Come down and join us if you like. Throwback Suburbia goes on at 8:30.
I hope you all had a great weekend and that you hate Mondays as much as I do. As "they say"......misery loves company. Btw..........that pic was taken during an interview with ICHIRO!! How much do ya love that guy?!

Cheers & make good memories~

Jon

2007-06-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Just got back from the most amazing wedding I've ever been to. It was Katy Brown's wedding (sports anchor for KATU) and she married a cool cat, Troy, on the lake in Lake Tahoe. It was the most serene setting you can imagine for a wedding and it was a perfect day. We had a Portland entourage of about 30 down there and let's just say that we painted the town red. Why do they always say "red"? Why not "blue"? Who knows.....whatever..........
One of my best buddies, Rob Marciano (CNN) flew into town the weekend before and in our typical fashion, we tore it up hard in Portland. As much as I love this guy, I need a break from our playtime. My liver needs a break. He misses Portland as much as I miss having him here, so we'll see what happens. He's back in Atlanta now and I'm back in Portland and the country is a much safer place!
OK, so Katy asked me to play trumpet in her wedding and of course I said yes. My chops were not in shape so for the past couple months, I practiced on and off (played all the way through college) in preparation for the performance. Let me tell you, friends, that it is MUCH harder to play in front of your colleagues and friends than in front of total strangers and I was damn nervous. That, coupled with the altitude of Lake Tahoe and the dry air, made for a challenging situation. So, you're wondering..........did you screw up, Jon? No, I didn't and I was quite relieved that Katy, her husband and their families dug it too.
So, it was high time to party and celebrate. That, we did, in high fashion. Katy's dad paid for the shindig and it was mighty impressive!! Katy was gorgeous and so happy and as her first friend she made in Portland, outside of KATU, I was so happy for her! She deserves this happiness. We all do, right? The band at the reception was f'g awesome, and we danced our butts off for hours. There just might have been some afterparty events, but I'll let your mind wander on that. The setting for romance was as perfect as it gets. I'll just leave it at that. One question........ever done a body shot on a dock?
Last Monday, I had the honor of speaking for a short bit at the Japanese Consulate residence in Portland. I presented both of our latest Sapporo shows to the mixed group of Japanese and Americans and it seemed to go well. I was super tired from my weekend before with Rob that I really don't know if I made sense, but hey, I was there. What a lovely home and officially, on Japanese soil, since it's the consulate. It was great to see my friend, Goto-san, from Sapporo, who came in for the Rose Festival. In two years, Portland and Sapporo celebrate our 50th Sister City relationship! I hope PDXposed can do something with that. We have discussed the possibility of filming next summer, in June, back in Sapporo, so we'll see what happens with that.
On a cool note, we expect to know this week, when we're going to GERMANY. I expect to be there sometime in late August/early September and we'll feature the whole travel experience with Lufthansa Airlines, Frankfurt and Munich (one of my favorite cities in the world!). No, there's no Sister City relationship there, but Portland does have a nonstop flight to Germany, and that..........is the connection. I speak some German so this should be fun! Josh and Mike will be going, just as they did to Sapporo. We only have room on the flights for 3 so poor Julie has to kick it back in Portland. If we go to China, she'll likely have a spot. That's the goal anyway.
I'm off to do laundry, go for a run and kick it on a Sunday night. Just felt the need to "blog" and I hope you all had great weekends. Thanks for reading and for watching PDXposed.

Make good memories everybody!

Jon

2007-06-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Scottsdale. I'm down here playing with my buddy today and it's freezing (only 105 degrees). But it's a "dry heat"........yeah, whatever! Hot is hot, right? Been having a lot of fun lately, probably too much, but hey, you only live once. And having sold AED's (automated defibrillators) in my past career, I do recognize that life can end swiftly and that you really should live life like this could be your last day. If I died tomorrow, nobody would say that I didn't live life to the fullest. So, that's one of my theories on how to live life. So.....I actually got to sit next to a hot chick on the flight to Phoenix last night. That almost never happens. I was supposed to work on my talent resume for my new agent -- Murphy Management -- but I ended up shooting the shit with my new friend, Laurie, an RN at Kaiser Sunnyside. It was fun. But....being a man who does not neglect his duties, I completed the resume today.

Check out our new Sapporo show on our website....... www.pdxposed.com (you knew that because you had to go there to get here, duh~). I think it's better than our first one, more quirky stuff including a snowball fight with one of my videographers, Mike. I kicked his ass! He might disagree. We have more "Happy Random Times," which some have said we should bring into every episode. God knows, we certainly have plenty of them. Good news this week........we're likely going to Germany later this summer to feature Lufthansa's connection from Portland to Frankfurt. I speak German fairly well and have been to Germany many times, so I'm stoked for the trip. We can only bring 3 people again, so sadly, Julie has to tend the fort in Portland. I LOVE Salzburg and that is the photo with this posting. It's a magical place for me and my family comes from near there. If you ever go to Europe, Salzburg is a must!! This new cooking show is really taking shape and our new production partner, Fusion Entertainment, thinks it could be bigger than Survivor, so stay tuned! We're filming the Portland 200 Race (very fun event) next weekend so if we run into you, say hi! Peace out from Scottsdale~!

Make good memories~
jon

2007-05-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends~
I'm constantly amazed that you actually read my blog. I get lots of comments and emails so I'm trying my best to keep up. What a weekend we had -- had to mc 3 different events on Saturday and let's just say that my voice was gone on Sunday. It was ok though, because I needed to shut the hell up and rest my bod! My buddy Mike, videographer from PDXposed who moved to LA after our Sapporo trip, was back in Portland to help us film last week. We filmed an amazing duo, Acoustic Minds, at a very cool venue -- Mississippi Pizza. I'm embarrassed that I've never been there but I picked a good time to go. Acoustic Minds rocks, so definitely check them out when you can. They play locally a lot. We also made great progress on our NEW TV SHOW that we're pitching to the Food Network. This show could be huge and I'll keep you in the loop. We're all really excited about this. That's about all I can tell you for now. Saturday was the Alberta Art Hop, 8th annual, which was my first MC gig. It's a perfect celebration of what the Portland area has to offer -- phenominal art and music scene!! Now, festival season begins and we'll be having festivals pretty much every weekend until the beginning of October, some more fun than others (like the beer/wine/food festivals!!). I should be breaking by paragraph, I know, but I'm too lazy tonight. I'm actually talking to my best friend from South Dakota, as I type this, so men CAN multitask! OK...........this Wednesday, 5/23, come to The Living Room Theater on SE 10th & Stark to check out Scott Fisher's CD/video release party. I mc'd his gig at the Doug Fir Saturday night and the crowd was en fuego!!! Should be the same people Wednesday so check it out. If you come, please come up and say hi to me. They'll be showing PDXposed footage, early footage of Scott, from about 4 years ago on our show = pretty cool.

Well, I'm out. Thanks for reading. Have a good week and happy week of May 21st!

Peace to you all~
Jon

2007-05-09T15:18:00.000-07:00

Alright, alright.............I'll get back at this blogging thing. SO MUCH has been going on, not to mention a new Oregon cooking show that we're pitching NATIONALLY! If it goes, it will be huge and I'll be one busy boy. We'll see. So, I had a gentleman send me an email after my last blog, saying that I seem "sad" and he asked if it's Portland or if the Portland women are getting me down. Allow me to address him, name = anonymous.......I'm frustrated, not sad, about the dating scene and about the opposite sex communication thing. I'm not down on Portland. I love this city, hence the show I created to "Xpose" all the wonderful things we have to offer. It's not "Portland women" that I'm down on either. I've met some amazing women recently and even have interest in dating a couple of them. I love women and the way they tick, always have. I grew up close to my grandmother, mother and sisters, so I have a respect for women that most men don't have. I've just not found a life partner yet, and at my age, I thought I'd be well on my way with a wife and children. But, I'm further from it than ever, so I'm adjusting my future expectations, which has led to frustration. Does that make sense? Thank you, whoever you are, for your email. It inspired me to publish a new post.
So, this Friday night, 5/11, our first Sapporo show debuts at 7pm on CNW14! I spent about 6 hours in the editing booth finalizing the editing and graphics this week, so I can tell you that it's a great show. I will be honest......it starts slowly but stick around as it picks up speed and there are many funny things to keep your interest. I pretty much make a fool out of myself as usual. We are doing an impromptu show watch party at Aztec Willies (14th and NE Broadway), so if you wanna meet the crew, come on down and play with us. You can also see how we do what we do, as we're filming the restaurant for a segment on PDXposed. Regardless, enjoy the show and keep your feedback coming! I do like hearing from you. The other gents in the picture are my Chief Editor/Videographer, Josh, and my other videographer/editor, Mike. We had a BLAST together in Sapporo!

Thanks for reading and as always..........make good memories!

Jon

2007-04-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

What is happening, my friends? Well, we've wrapped up round 1 of our OR Coast shows and our next two shows are going to feature our SAPPORO trip!! Josh, my editor, is stoked to finally get to edit that awesome footage. Those shows are going to be great! It's been a strange last couple weeks, in many ways, but I'm getting by. It is nice that the rain is starting to subside and the sun is starting to come out. I can certainly see why people in the NW have lots of depression. This winter sucked, to put it mildly. Nothing too exciting to report, personally. No love life to speak of. I am so sick and tired of the "drama" that most women seem to present me. My last relationship ended so poorly that I think I'll remain single for a while. It's easier that way and really, more fun. How many happily married people do you know? Exactly, not many! Not that I don't want a happy marriage and children, because I do. But........not going to kill myself trying to find it. I'll just let it find me. What a boring blog this is, but hey........the weekend is upon us and I, for one, am ready to party it up! I'll be at Olivers, a new Lake Oswego restaurant, tomorrow night, checking it out for the show & Dante's on Saturday night. If you're reading this and you see me either place, come up and say hi. Mention this posting and I'll buy you a drink! Thanks for reading and make good memories this weekend!

Jon

2007-04-02T22:19:00.000-07:00

Hi there again. It's already April.....can you f'g believe it? I turn a non-exciting age on 4/4 and if you can guess that age, you win something. What, I don't know yet but just know it's of little consequence. The attached pic was taken by Julie, our PM, this past weekend, just outside of Warrenton. We finally wrapped up all our OR Coast filming, at Ft. Stevens and in one of my new favorite towns, Astoria. If you haven't been to Astoria, I highly recommend it. They have fun shops, great restaurants and nice hotels. And I must say, the people in Astoria are loads of fun, very colorful! We have many new irons in the fire, and being an Aries (= fire sign ), it would make sense, right? We're still working on going over to Hawaii in May and China in September. Our production company, which produces PDXposed -- THE DIGITAL STUDIO -- is taking on some new challenges as well, might be working closely with Entercom Radio soon, so I'll let you know what's up with that. Single again = moi! I had a nasty breakup, which I've never really experiences, so for all of you that I've attempted to counsel through those types of relationships (toxic!!) and breakups, I now "get it." Sorry if I gave you useless or bad advice. I'm getting my feet wet again and the pain is subsiding, but it was tough, very tough. On a positive note, I'm off to the Midwest tomorrow for a BIG meeting on Wednesday, that could possibly help shape my future. Again, will let you know. Ciao for now and thanks for watching PDXposed and as always, make good memories everybody!

Jon

2007-03-19T20:49:00.000-07:00

What is happening? Much has been going on with me in the past few weeks. Most of it too personal to blog but I will tell you that I spent almost a week in Rapid City (SD) with my family. It was my baby sister's 40th birthday celebration and we all (minus my older sis and her husband) got together, including all 12 nieces and nephews. That is a very rare occasion to say the least so it was a blast. No family drama and we all enjoyed each other, which in a large family, isn't always so easy. The attached pic is with a few of them at a totally cool water park in RC. I love water parks and yes, I played like one of the kids -- a definite highlight of my trip. PDXposed has a few tidbits to share, in addition to our latest episode, from Astoria. We are working with a local travel agency to get us to Hawaii to film 2 or 3 episodes in May. We're in the early stages but the Royal Hawaiian (beautiful pink hotel on Waikiki) has agreed to put us up and we'll likely fly over on Hawaiian Air. That should be fun. If any of you have any ideas to keep us more local, like money making ideas, then we're all ears. The travel show concept is just really taking off. I guess our Emmy nominations really do help us. We'll know in mid April if we get more Emmy nominations for 2007. Fingers crossed, expectations down. And it's time for me to shut this down. I do love hearing back from you (thank you Patrick Lamb!), so feel free to drop me a line. Hello to all my good friends in Sapporo.

Cheers from Portland!

Jon

2007-02-28T13:10:00.000-08:00

Greetings everyone!
Jetlag is a bitch and we've all had it bigtime, so I apologize for not being in touch sooner. We filmed again in Seaside and Astoria over the weekend. It seems that the Oregon Coast is becoming our second home. Plan on seeing more shows from the Coast, another from Seaside and two from Astoria. We've made some good friends down there and word has it, they want more shows, so we'll see. We are HOWEVER going to be filming in Portland again soon. This Saturday, we'll be filming the Patrick Lamb CD release party at the Aladdin Theatre. Word has it, his new stuff completely rocks so we're looking forward to that. Scott Fisher and Liv Warfield will also be on the docket, so the show is very worthy of your attendence. On Sunday, I'm hosting a special party at my house for my buddy Scott Fisher, so it should be a fun-filled weekend. I finally get to go home and see my family & close friends next weekend, which is much-needed. I really need some time away from my crazy life in Portland. We all need to get away, right, and who better to spend that time with than the people who love you most? I've appreciated your comments on the blog, which fuels me to keep it coming. We also love show ideas and we appreciate all of your creative minds. Enjoy the rest of your week and if you hit the Aladdin Saturday night, please come up and say hello! Thanks for reading and peace out!
Jon

2007-02-14T19:12:00.000-08:00

Sorry I've been "blogless" the past few days, especially to you friends in Sapporo who've been reading it. I caught a raging cold the last day there and it really hit me hard upon my return. Today, Wednesday, was pretty much the first day I got out of bed. That is totally rare for me so I have to listen to my body and just relax. Lisa has been my Florence Nightingale, which has helped a lot. As you know from my previous posting, we were quite bummed to leave Sapporo. This trip was exactly what we wanted it to be and the footage will show it. It was so awesome to see our friends from the last time and to make new friends. International travel is so special, because you really realize how small the world is. We all pretty much do the same thing every day, just in different ways. PDXposed got ahead of schedule before we left, which was a very good thing, considering that I don't seem to know which end is up at this point. Between my jetlag and my nasty cold/bronchitis, my head is way up in the clouds. I'll get there, not to worry. Thanks to all of you who are reading this. It was cool to get some replies and to hear that people actually do read these. Thanks to everybody who made this trip happen, both in Portland and in Sapporo and thanks to Mike and Josh who were absolute professionals the entire trip. Much love, from the Rose City!
Jon

2007-02-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

Now, we begin our journey to land of port, like Gypsies (Borat......come on, you've seen it by now, haven't you?!). Mike and Josh are with me, and Mike felt I shouldn't write that because it might offend our Gypsy viewers. We are all super bummed to be leaving. My only shining star on the other end is that I get to be back in Lisa's arms. The rest of it pretty much sucks. We filmed two rock bands last night at a club in Susukino, called Bessie Hall. Mike and I peeled off for night shots of the sculptures (lit up amazingly) & also more "Happy Random Times" and we got lost. Our buddy, Torii-san, was awaiting our arrival with much anticipation, as the first band was going on in less than 10 minutes. Mike was no help as he has "brain like chicken"! For a dude, this dude has no sense of direction, but we love him for other reasons. I'll get back to you on those. The photo attached to this blog is of my college buddy, Jay. He and my other good friend from Nebraska, Tawnya, came to play with us in Sapporo. Without Julie here, we absolutely needed the extra hands, and they were extremely helpful. I only hope they had as much fun as we did. I think so. Well...........sayonara from Sapporo. This is a sad day but as they say, "All good things must come to an end." Who the F are "they" anyway?!

Love ya'll~

Jon

2007-02-09T23:21:00.000-08:00

Dear diary: Today I learned how to make sushi. It's true folks. We once again dined with a Japanese family, in their lovely home. This was not a typical Japanese home, much nicer. This family was like a Norman Rockwell painting, near perfect in every way. They had two kids who were adorable and the mother prepared a sushi smorgasborg (sp?) which was the best meal we've had yet. It was so cool. As I sit here in my room at the Sapporo Guest House, preparing for our final shoot, I find that I'm quite sad. This trip was the best we've ever had in so many ways aside from getting home to my sweethearts arms, I don't want to leave. None of us do. The photo for this blog is us filming a bunch of drunk girls saying "Happy Random Times"! This is a new segment we're doing, which I think I told you already. There are so many random things that happen to you in Japan and we love it. We actually discussed doing a third trip to Sapporo, next year. We had our "thank you dinner" last night and had the Portland Snow Sculpture Team with us, along with my buddy Scott Guptill, who is also on the Portland-Sapporo Sister Cities Board. This dinner happened after I presented information on traveling TO Oregon, to a room full of interested Sapporo Citizens (50+ people). Goto-san, one of our favorite hosts, said it was the first time she's ever seen me nervous. Have to admit it.......I was kind of nervous. The presentation lasted 1 1/2 hours and I do think it was a success. Travel Oregon and POVA helped to sponsor our trip, so we did that seminar for them. Tonight, we are going to film 2 bands, live at a kickin' Sapporo Nightclub. I bought t-shirts for the crew and we're going to wear them tonight and ask the bands if they can figure out the meaning. They say, "I'm huge in Japan." Let's see which way they choose to take it?? Well, enough for now. I need to get my "game face" on again. I can guarantee some more fun photos from tonight. Cheers my friends, from Sapporo!

Jon

2007-02-08T01:18:00.000-08:00

OK, today was COLLLLDDDD! We started out the day by filming the International Snow Sculpture Competition Awards Ceremony. Our boys from Portland did a very nice job -- carved the world with two hands holding it, with doves on the top. The did not win however, rather the Hong Kong team did. Their sculpture was amazing. They were all good and great eye candy. One fun thing happened to me there..........a woman came up to me and said, "I know you. You are Jon Olson." Kinda catches you offguard when you're thousands of miles from home. She said she's from Camby and watches our show all the time. She said it makes her laugh and that always feels good to hear! We then drove for what seemed like hours (but we never left the city limits of Sapporo = very spread out city!!) to the Historical Village of Hokkaido, which gives you a very historical, informative and visual documentation on the history of Hokkaido island. I forgot my gloves in the car (we're being transported in two cars) and we were shooting outside for about 2 hours. Let's just say I couldn't feel certain parts of my body. But.........it was very cool. We're off to a dinner at the Sapporo Beer Garden with the Portland Ice Carving Team. They are tons of fun, so I'm sure we'll have a blast. Have a great day, everybody!

Jon

2007-02-07T01:54:00.000-08:00

Wow, what a snowy day. When it snows here in Hokkaido, it really snows! The weather changed about a dozen times today, but we were prepared for it, thanks to Larie at Latitudes who gave us our killer ski jackets! We started the day at Satoland, one of the 3 Snow Festival sites, which is mainly for children. Of course, I had fun. We then went to an elementary schoold where I took a ski lesson with the children. There was one little boy that was so enamored with us crazy Americans that he followed us around. We got some very funny interaction between him and me, which will definitely make the cutting room floor. Our battery charger for our video camera (Canon XL2) broke so we then got to visit a large Japanese Video/Electronics store. Josh and Mike were in heaven. Then it was off to Mt. Moiwa which offers you a great view of Sapporo, especially by night, IF it's clear which of course for us it was not. We pretty much had a white out storm happening during this time but there was one super cool highlight -- visiting Bar The Ice. Yes, you read it correctly. It's not "The Ice Bar" rather Bar The Ice. I love the English-Japanese translations and we're having lots of fun with it. This was so cool -- a bar made completely out of ice. You don't see that in Portland! Last night, we played in Susukino and shot some great stuff. This is where the ice sculptures are located and they also have ice bars, sponsored by different liquor companies. Yeah, we'll be heading back there tonight. Speaking of tonight, I need to take a quick nap so I can play with the big kids tonight. It was a long day and I'm tired. Peace out my friends!

Jon

2007-02-06T01:49:00.000-08:00

Good evening from Sapporo! The Snow Festival officially kicked off today and I must say, the ice sculptures are amazing! They also have an international snow carving competition with 18 teams from all over the world. PORTLAND has a team and I got the chance to carve with them today. Ok, we just simulated that I was helping for the show, but it was still pretty cool. The thing that stood out most today was how damn cute the kids are, especially in their little snow suits. They are so friendly and so enthralled with us crazy Americans. They all seem to know hello and goodbye and it's so cute. Tomorrow we go to a new site, Satoland, and we'll definitely run into hundreds more cute children. I think I'm also taking a ski lesson with a bunch of elementary school students. Last night, I had the pleasure of interviewing the Mayor of Sapporo. He's a very fun guy and he loves Portland. I even got him to sing his favorite karaoke song, so look forward to that. He's pretty darn good, I must say. Well, we're off to film the ice carvings at night in Susukino. And..........another trip to tasty Ramen Alley is also in the plan. Until we meet again, sayonara from Sapporo!
Jon

2007-02-04T23:25:00.000-08:00

Congrats to all Colts fans. We actually got to watch the Super Bowl LIVE today, under very strange conditions, however. It was 9AM on Monday when the game started, so needless to say, we didn't have any hot Super Bowl parties. But it was cool to be able to see the game and I took $100 off my best friend, Dan, who had the Bears. Pay up Dan! We went out last night and ripped it up in Susukino, the party district in Sapporo. It was jumpin' for a Sunday night and we got some killer footage for our show. We decided that we'll add another segment on each Japan show (x2) and we'll title it something like "Random Happenin's in Sapporo." It will be a bunch of fun clips Xposing the differences in cultures. Mike got a little too "happy" last night and passed out while he was eating his ice cream that we purchased late night/early morning. Good thing we didn't have a lot to do today as Mike wasn't feeling too well. Tonight, we are going to an official reception for the opening of the Snow Festival. I will get to meet and interview the Mayor of Sapporo, which is a big deal over here. I'm sure we'll have some fun stories for tomorrow's blog. I really want to update it daily with new pics from our time here. We're having a blast. Ciao for now~ Jon

2007-02-03T23:39:00.000-08:00

Greetings from Sapporo! It's damn cold here and the weather changes faster than anyplace I've ever been, BUT...........we're having the time of our lives. We just finished filming at a fantastic Japanese ski resort -- Kiroro -- where we got to downhill ski (my favorite), tube down hills, snowmobile, go for a snowcat ride, eat some killer food, karaoke in a crazy room, drink some beers and sake and try to figure out the Japanese toilets again. It surpassed my expectations and we got some really fun footage. You'll dig it, I promise you. Josh is behind me (bugging me) saying that he thinks it's pretty amazing that you can buy hot coffee in CANS in a vending machine. There are so many differences that are everywhere and everyone's making fun of Mike's mustache. Time to go hit the party district in Sapporo, Susukino, but first, we're gonna drink beer and watch Borat online. Feel free to join us at www.peekvid.com = free movies and tv shows = very nice!

Sayonara!!

Jon

2007-01-23T09:53:00.000-08:00

What's up? As I write this entry, I find myself quite stressed out. We leave for Sapporo one week from today and let's just say, we have TONS to accomplish before we go. I'm also working on another huge project, which we're behind on too, so that's not fun for an uber organized freak like me. Gotta say, however, that I'm digging the nice temps we're having now. I didn't move here to shovel F'g snow. I happily left that behind when I left the Midwest. American Laser signed on for another 6 months, so you've just increased your chances to win a $1500 gift certificate for any of their cool services. I mean, come on.........who doesn't want to look good, especially during the frigid months. Well, I'm off to do the final editing of our first Seaside, OR, show. Over the next few months, PDXposed is hitting the road, as we'll bring you 2 shows from Seaside and Astoria, respectively and two more shows from the world famous Sapporo Snow Festival. Enjoy and I'll throw you a line when I'm in Japan. Thanks for reading and I wish you a good week. JON

2006-12-27T19:40:00.000-08:00

Happy post Christmas everybody. I am supposed to be in South Dakota with my famdamily but I fell victim to the Denver storms and wulah.......I'm here in Portland. My mom is quite bummed but Mother Nature seems to have more strength than Mother Olson. Coming up on our next show, is an all band show, featuring some of our favorites. The COOL NEWS is that our good friend, STORM LARGE is my Guest Host for the entire episode. You'll get to learn some of the behind-the-scenes stories from her time on Rockstar Supernova. Tune in and find out whom she thought would win, from the beginning. If any of you has any fun ideas for New Year's Eve, by all means, let 'em fly. I'm kinda bored, though I do have a new "friend" in my life and let's just say that yesterday, we both set records. Yeah, you know what I mean. Extra free time means extra playtime for me! Happy New Year to ALL of you. Be safe and have fun!

2006-12-08T09:22:00.000-08:00

Happy December Friends! I hope you got to enjoy the Holiday Ale Festival last weekend, as much as we did. You won't be seeing us around town, filming so much, in the next couple months. With the Holidays, our crew has many other things going on, as you likely do as well. I'll be going home to hang with my cool family in the Black Hills of South Dakota. I plan to do some skiing (my favorite!) and hang with my cute nieces and nephews. I hate that I am not there to see them grow up and they are each (12 of 'em) so damn cute and smart! I don't have any but I feel the meaning of life is children, which is why you see us put kids on our show as often as we can. Well, must get crackin' on a couple interviews for tonight. Gonna interview Steve from Mission 5, our next show's featured band. Have a good weekend!

2006-11-28T12:15:00.000-08:00

Starting to get the hang of this blog thing............sorta. Thanks for tuning in to our 50th episode last weekend. It was pretty representative of our show -- fun and parties. And speaking of fun.............please feel free to join us this Friday for the Holiday Ale Festival @ Pioneer Square. This a a fun, outdoor festival but bundle up and join us for a beer or two. Have you started your Christmas shopping? Hell no, on my end..........been putting it off until I get home to see my nieces and nephews in South Dakota. I always love spending holidays with my family. They are pretty damn cool!! Have a great week and hope to see you Friday night.

2006-11-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

What's up guys? It's been a while since I've posted and I apologize for that. I could say that I've been busy but that's a cop-out. I'm just getting in to this whole blogging thing, so please bare with me. We're airing our 50th EPISODE of PDXposed this Friday (11/24) which blows my mind. Never did I think we'd be on the air, going strong, after almost 4 years. But we are, thanks to you! We are doing lots more traveling and just got back from filming in Seaside for the weekend. We had tons of fun as you will see when the Seaside shows air, beginning in February, right after we get back from Sapporo, Japan. I'm going to try to update this baby a couple times a week, so hopefully, I can stay true to that. Come to the Doug Fir this Wednesday, 11/22, and watch us film the hot rock band, Mission 5. Hope to see you there and do have a good Thanksgiving week!

2006-11-15T13:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the disappearance. I must admit, I've been uber busy and this whole blog thing is new to me, guess that makes me old. We've been filming at the Oregon Coast -- doing 2 dedicated shows in Seaside and also in Astoria. We're also going back to Japan to feature the world renowned Sapporo Snow Festival, Jan. 30 - Feb. 12. I wonder what the tiny Japanese women will look like all dressed up like snow bunnies?? Hmm?? We'll be filming Wednesday, 11/22 at the Doug Fir and also Friday, 12/1 at the Holiday Ale Festival (Pioneer Square) so do come and check us out. If you do, please say hello. Alright, I'm out.........and I promise to update this more often, so my web stud, Brent, doesn't shoot me! Peace out~

2006-09-28T11:01:00.000-07:00

Make sure to come to the PDX Erotic Halloween Ball (Click here: www.myspace.com/pdxerotichalloweenball) on Saturday, October 28th! PDXposed will be filming live and it will be THE eye candy treat of 2006!!

2006-09-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

Good news from PDXposed! We are hitting the road and are going to be more of a true "travel show"! We agree that air travel is a pain with the new & continually changing FAA regulations and that high gas prices are preventing any of us from straying too far from home. SO.........tune in to future episodes of PDXposed as we "Xpose" Astoria, Seaside, Cannon Beach, Port Townsend, Bend, Hood River, etc......................thanks for watching PDXposed and keep making good memories!

2006-09-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Thanks for watching PDXposed. We have a blast creating this show and we hope you enjoy the fun rides as well. Drop us a line with your ideas. We DO listen to you, so bring your fresh ideas on baby!

2006-09-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Jon's Corner at PDXposed weBLOG. My name is Jon Olson and I'm the host of this exciting TV show about life and travel in the Pacific Northwest. With this blog I'll keep you informed about what's going on with this show. After all, if it happens in the Northwest, it happens on PDXposed!