I was inspired to write this blog by a new "Friend's" kind words through an email…

I served in the United States Army… I joined when I was seventeen, which was in 1986… (You will hopefully see how this ties in with the blog)…

Entertainment (in all forms… movies, music, television) is so important… especially in a world full of turmoil and uncertainty.

I, as a soldier, saw this first hand… I am proud to say that I served my country… I am proud of all the military personnel serving today…

While in the field, I remember movie night (and of course beer)… One of the first movies I saw was called "About last night"… and a stand up comedian named Eddie Murphy's movie called "Delirious". It was important to keep our minds off the negative… even if it was only for an hour and a half…

In 1986 we received only one station… AFRTS (Armed Forces radio and Television Service), since it had only one station, we had are own name for it… FARTS TV… but that is how I became a TREKIE… it aired the debut of Star Trek's "Next Generation"… the launching of my love for Sci-Fi…

We did have a movie theatre on our Kaserne (a military post)… but the problem was they did not get a movie until a year from its original release… We couldn't wait to see the ground breaking effects of "Who framed Roger Rabbit"… or a father who had passed but walked out of a corn field to see his son in "The field of dreams"…

I can remember walking to the military PX… so excited; I had saved up for the newest technology… the auto reverse walkman cassette player… I really wanted to listen to my music while on maneuvers… to keep my mind off of being anxious… nervous… and sometimes scared. I would listen to a band called "Ultravox" and "Phil Collins"… and "OMD"… These bands shared my eighteenth birthday with me out in the field…

…I am excited to have a "Myspace" friend that is a true artist and musician… his name is "Skully" on my "Myspace" top friends list… stop by and listen to his beautiful music…

When I was serving… women were not allowed to serve in combat armed MOS's… on our post, there were no woman… so imagine the excitement when the mess hall received a video jukebox and they had videos of the "Bangles"…

I was still oversees when CD's were becoming popular…

I will never forget this… a friend I shared a room in the barracks and I went to the PX… we were looking at the CD's… He looked at the CD cover of a new band called "Poison"… He looked at me and said… "Damn JD… those are some hot looking chicks"… I did all I could do to not laugh… and said, "Those are dudes dude"… (The birth of glam rock… this paragraph really wasn't relevant to the point… but I thought it was funny…)

We all need a way to escape… mine and others are using television shows to do exactly that… That is why I think we get so upset when a program is cancelled… they just caused a ripple in our get away (break from reality)…

Some of my favorite shows are… "Dead like me", "Ghost Hunters", "Stargate", "Atlantis", "Battlestar Galactica", "LOST", "Everyone loves Raymond", "Brothers and sisters", "Traveler" and "Jericho"…and older shows such as… "Buffy and Angel", "Nowhere Man", "The Invisible Man"… (Anything Sci-Fi) …you get the picture…

I absolutely love going to the Sci-Fi conventions… You get to meet others that share the same passion and enjoyment that you get out of a program… when the actor or actress of that show is kind to you… what a bonus…

One such Actress is Ellen Muth… When I met her, (I babbled so much… I don't know if she even understood a single word I was saying)… (but still listened to every word I was saying)… I was so excited… I was able to express to her how much I loved "Dead Like Me"…

Working at Sony Pictures (Private Security)… I don't normally get star struck… but Ellen had such a beautiful soul… so kind… (a genuine kindness)

Another up and coming Actress is Melora (a kind and beautiful spirit and woman)… (Check out her Myspace page 'my second friend on my friends list')… say hello…

In conclusion… you may not have been in the military… but still, you may have frustrations… problems (every day drama)… or a high stress job… a police officer… firefighter… or (an actor or actress)… (or even in college or high school... deciding what to do with your life ) …etc…

…It is alright to want to escape in the world of music, movies or television…