Dammit, Andy!

My Top 10 Albums of 2010

2010-12-28T21:06:00.006-06:00

Since I put together my inaugural Top 10 list last year, I may as well make it a tradition. Luckily I had the foresight to keep a running list in Evernote throughout the year, so the tough part was putting them in order. Some may argue about the order of the albums on the list or the exclusion of others. I'd love to hear your opinions.

So without any further jibba jabba, here's my Top 10 Albums of 2010 list:

Local Natives - Gorilla Manor The harmonies are amazing. I saw these guys twice this year and loved both shows.
Flaming Lips - Dark Side of the Moon I was lucky enough to see the Lips perform this on NYE 2009 in OKC. A great cover of a great album.
The Black Keys - Brothers I listened to this album over and over this past summer. Nice gritty bluesy rock.
Yeasayer - Odd Blood Another band I saw live this year. Upbeat indie rock to enliven any task or workout.
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast Surf rock sound thanks to lots of Telecaster but new and different at the same time. Plus a song about David Lynch.
Born Ruffians - Say It I saw these guys play at the newly reopened Fitzgerald's in my 'hood. Great live show. Catchy album.
Spoon - Transference Few bands consistently release great albums while gradually morphing their sound. Spoon does. Another constant listen this past year.
Wavves - King of the Beach The summer of 2010 was a brief indie surf rock renaissance. Or maybe I'm discounting a trend with a longer shelf life. But I'm no critic. Good album for the beach. Or kings of them.
Suckers - Wild Smile These guys toured with Local Natives and the first time I heard them was when they opened that show. Bad ass tunes kinda like Local Natives but not. Apples and oranges, but still fresh & delicious organic fruit (I may have yuppied that fruit part up a bit, but oh well).
Giant Princess - Zip Zop Wow Awesome new band from the H Tizzle. Raucous indie rock. Saw them do an in store at my beloved Cactus Music and dug it.

Things To Do While I'm on Vacation in December

2010-11-22T12:28:00.012-06:00

I didn't take much of my vacation time this year, so I'm left with thirteen days of vacation to take in December. In an effort to make the most of this bounty of time off, I made a list of things to do. Thanks to Jamie for suggesting I make a list after patiently enduring my first couple brainstorming sessions.

Here's the list in no particular order:

Triumphant return to homebrewing - Brew an American Pale Ale. Cascade hops and more Cascade hops.
"Fixing a hole where the rain gets in..." - Patch a couple small leaks in the garage roof.
No clever way to say it - Rake some leaves.
Dining reconnaissance at Stella Sola - One of the few local restaurants I haven't tried yet.
Mini "Into the Wild" camping trip - Solo camping for a few days with my guitar and mountain bike. Maybe Huntsville State Park.
These are the (An)droids you're looking for - Finally finish developing the Android application I've been working on sporadically over the past several months.
Save me from my phone, Phone - Build a Windows Phone 7 equivalent of my Android application. Given the far superior development tools available for WP7, this should be a much quicker build than the Android app.
Eat, drink, and be merry - Celebrate the most wonderful time of the year with family and friends.
Put the needle on the record - Put on some headphones, lay on the floor, and enjoy my record collection.
"Take a look, it's in a book..." - Decide which book I want to read next and spend some time turning pages.

Indie Rock Mix CD for My Canada/Montreal Trip

2010-07-07T19:09:00.005-05:00

Any good trip needs a soundtrack. With this in mind, I created a mix CD with the following tracks. All of the bands except where noted hail from Montreal or at least Canada. I've included links to listen to the tracks on YouTube. No Celine Dion or Bryan Adams will be found here, only the coolest indie bands Canada has to offer.

These are in no particular order. I know, I know... the art of a good mix is in the song order, but I plan to put the CD on shuffle in the rental car to let chance determine what we hear when:

Of Montreal - An Eluardian Instance (Not FROM Montreal, but it's in their name)
Built to Spill - Hindsight (Not FROM Canada, but the lyric "What about Canada? It's paradise. It's pines and ice." makes me chuckle every time I hear it.)
Arcade Fire - Month of May
Broken Social Scene - World Sick
Hot Hot Heat - Middle of Nowhere
Wolf Parade - Ghost Pressure
Islands - Rough Gem
New Pornographers - Use It
Postal Service - Mushaboom (Remix of the Feist song. She's from Canada.)
Tokyo Police Club - Breakneck Speed
Born Ruffians - Foxes Mate for Life
St Vincent - Actor Out of Work
Caribou - Odessa
Tegan & Sara - Back in Your Head
Japandroids - Young Hearts Spark Fire
AC Newman - Palace at 4 AM
Sunset Rubdown - Idiot Heart
The Unicorns - Jellybones

My Beef with the Tea Party Movement

2010-02-12T11:33:00.003-06:00

I posted the following on a comment thread on a friend's Facebook page and thought I should share it here. Feel free to agree or flame away. You're not going to change my mind:

My beef with the Tea Party movement is it was started by Libertarian-minded people with the right intentions, but then hijacked by the establishment GOP for political gain. The GOP now favors corporate welfare and imperialist "world policing". In fact, the only difference between the Republicans and Democrats now is what they want to spend the money on. That they have any right to tax and inflate away our earnings is a foregone conclusion.

I am an advocate of a Constitution-sized federal government (MUCH smaller than what we've had for the past 100 years) with lassiez faire capitalism, no Federal Reserve, and a non-interventionist foreign policy. I would have to have been born before 1900 to have any of that...

My review of The Flaming Lips' "New Year's Eve Freakout"

2010-01-02T13:11:00.012-06:00

Since my friend Greg asked for it, here's a review of The Flaming Lips' "New Year's Eve Freakout" as their latest album, "Embryonic", spins on the turntable.

The last time I saw the Lips was in high school just after the release of "Clouds Taste Metallic". That experience and word-of-mouth since prepared me for the celebratory chaos that is a Flaming Lips show. Joe Mathlete of 29-95.com did a very entertaining set of cartoons documenting his trip to OKC for the show accurately described a Flaming Lips concert as "the biggest happiest birthday party ever, and everyone in the room is turning six".

The biggest draw for me was the fact that the Lips would be playing Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" at midnight. The week before the concert, they released the studio version of the album. I debated for less than five minutes whether I should listen to it or wait to hear it live on New Year's. Of course, I caved and listened to it repeatedly. I love how they made it their own, even completely changing the vibe of some songs like "Breathe" so that I had to really focus to hear what my ears were used to hearing from the Floyd version. Similarly, the clocks at the beginning of "Time" and the cash register/coins sound collage at the beginning of "Money" were changed (ha ha ha, pun intended) up quite a bit. I also appreciated that Henry Rollins was tapped for the speaking parts interspersed throughout the album. For my American English trained ears, this was the first time I was able to understand some of the speaking parts without the veil of a thick British English accent.

Back to the concert itself... We wisely got a room at the Renaissance Inn across the street from the convention center to avoid the need to drive anywhere. Some friends and friends of friends joined us at the hotel before the show for a little preparty. Around 10pm, we walked across the street to the convention center. The Flaming Lips had just gone on stage and proceeded to play a mixture of old and new songs including "Do You Realize?", "Convinced of the Hex", "She Don't Use Jelly", and "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots".

Big balloons in a variety of colors bounced among the crowd and my eyes noticed a sea of such balloons occupying the seats behind the stage. "Why aren't these balloons being enjoyed?", I wondered. I decided to do my part and throw as many of the balloons as possible into the part of the crowd where we were sitting. This was much appreciated by those around us, but was quickly interrupted by the yelling of stagehands below. It was then I realized these balloons were for midnight. My bad, dudes.

At midnight, the aforementioned idle balloons were swept into the crowd, resulting in a sea of multicolored balloons reminiscent of the ball pit at Showbiz Pizza . After (or before, I'm not sure), Wayne came out with giant hands and shot green lasers into the large hemispherical disco ball in the center of the arena. The disco ball refracted the lasers everywhere and prepared us for the Flaming Lips/Pink Floyd masterpiece we were about to witness.

Before they started playing Dark Side, Wayne asked all of us to set the alarm on our phones for 12:55 AM with whatever sound was currently set, which was obviously when they planned to launch into "Time". No cuckoo clocks with gears and chimes in 2010; this would be interesting.

Their performance of Dark Side for the most part stuck to the studio version, but hearing it live and seeing a seemingly endless sea of costumed characters such as a whale in a captain's uniform dancing at the sides of the stage made it even better. I really enjoyed watching Steven scream the diva part from "The Great Gig in the Sky" into a distorted megaphone. The Pink Floyd version of that song always gives me chills and The Flaming Lips version is no different. I also loved when they said "And now, we begin Side 2" in the middle of the performance. Time to flip the record, kids... We were sitting on the left side of the stage and I didn't see Henry Rollins, but heard his speaking parts throughout the set. Were they using a recording of him? Maybe someone with a different vantage point can clear that up for me.

Overall, it was a great New Year's Eve. No one was shoving past me to get to a bar and I didn't have to listen to the clucking of drunk girls in extra short cocktail dresses. I didn't have to drive, and I didn't have to talk to any police officers.

If you haven't ever listened to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon", SHAME ON YOU! Go get a turntable, the record, and a good set of headphones. Then, let me know how wonderful it is. After 100 or more listens, treat yourself to the Flaming Lips version. Which reminds me, I still need to listen to that with headphones...

Here are a few videos:

Convinced of the Hex

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Money (Pink Floyd cover)

Liberals and Conservatives

2009-04-20T10:32:00.005-05:00

A friend sent me this quote from his iGoogle page today:

A conservative is a man with two perfectly good legs who, however, has never learned to walk forward.
- Franklin D. Roosevelt

FDR fancied himself a progressive, so I'm not surprised that he'd say something like that. I, on the other hand, am libertarian to the core. As such, I propose the following revision:

Liberals and conservatives are men with a perfectly good Constitution who, however, have decided to ignore it completely.

Bands I've Seen Live

2009-04-19T16:23:00.039-05:00

I've been thinking for quite some time about trying to compile a list of all the bands I've seen live over the years. I'll put these in order as much as possible. I plan to keep adding to this as I recall past shows and attend more in the future. I have a ticket stub book, so I'll include the dates and other details for those I have. Some of these are special in that the bands have since split up, are no longer touring, and/or some members have passed away. You can find videos from a lot of these shows on my YouTube channel. Here we go:

Hum with Mercury Rev - Monday, February 5, 1996 @ Will Rogers Theater in Oklahoma City, OK
The Flaming Lips - Sunday, May 26, 1996 @ Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City, OK
Social Distortion - Tuesday, November 19, 1996 @ Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City, OK
Smashing Pumpkins with Garbage - Saturday, November 23, 1996 @ Myriad Arena in Oklahoma City, OK
Cibo Matto - Tuesday, February 25, 1997 @ Bricktown Live in Oklahoma City, OK
Earth Crisis
Beck with The Roots & Atari Teenage Riot - Wednesday, April 16, 1997 @ Fairgrounds T&T Building in Oklahoma City, OK
Coal Chamber with Sevendust - Wednesday, February 11, 1998 @ The Edge in Oklahoma City, OK
Page & Plant - Thursday, June 4, 1998 @ Myriad Arena in Oklahoma City, OK
The Crystal Method - Wednesday, August 26, 1998 @ Will Rogers Theater in Oklahoma City, OK
Korn with Ice Cube & Limp Bizkit (Family Values Tour) - Tuesday, October 20, 1998 @ Fairgrounds Arena in Oklahoma City, OK
Steve Miller Band with George Thorogood & The Destroyers - Saturday, August 21, 1999 @ State Fair Stadium in Oklahoma City, OK
MXPX - Friday, May 5, 2000 @ Diamond Ballroom in Oklahoma City, OK
The Who (while John Entwistle was still alive) - Tuesday, August 29, 2000 @ Woodlands Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
Violent Femmes & Flickerstick (of VH1 Bands on the Run fame) - Sunday, July 1, 2001 @ Herman Square in Houston, TX
Dave Matthews Band - Sunday, May 5, 2002 @ Woodlands Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
Weezer with Dashboard Confessional - Thursday, August 1, 2002 @ Woodlands Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
John Mayer & Guster - Wednesday, August 28, 2002 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Zwan - Monday, April 14, 2003 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Jason Mraz with Sondre Lerche & Liz Phair - Sunday, August 2003 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Modest Mouse - Sunday, February 20, 2005 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Glen Phillips (from Toad the Wet Sprocket) - Thursday, August 7, 2003 @ Rhythm Room in Houston, TX
Graham Colton - Wednesday, October 22, 2003 @ Engine Room in Houston, TX
Howie Day with Matt Nathanson & Slop Jar Jr (I only remember them for their odd name) - Wednesday, November 5, 2003 @ Engine Room in Houston, TX
Dashboard Confessional with The Get Up Kids - Sunday, June 12, 2004 at Reliant Arena in Houston, TX
Death Cab for Cutie with Franz Ferdinand - Thursday, March 30, 2006 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Sondre Lerche - Thursday, November 18, 2004 at Rhythm Room in Houston, TX
Wilco - Saturday, April 23, 2005 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Ryan Adams - Wednesday, June 15, 2005 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Franz Ferdinand - Wednesday, September 15, 2004 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
We Are Scientists - March 20, 2006 Walter's in Houston, TX
Beulah - May 21, 2006 @ Mary Jane's in Houston, TX
Arctic Monkeys with We Are Scientists - Thursday, June 8, 2006 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - September 16, 2006 @ Walter's in Houston, TX
French Kicks - September 22, 2006 @ Walter's in Houston, TX
The Shins with Viva Voce - Tuesday, March 6, 2007 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Aqueduct - March 18, 2007 @ Walter's in Houston, TX
Spoon @ Numbers in Houston, TX
Tokyo Police Club (x2, one with Ra Ra Riot) @ Meridian in Houston, TX
Old 97's (x2) @ Meridian in Houston, TX
Ryan Adams - Thursday, October 18, 2007 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Hot Hot Heat - Monday, October 22, 2007 @ Meridian
Scissors for Lefty - October 25, 2007 @ Jet Lounge in Houston, TX
Spoon with The New Pornographers - Thursday, November 1, 2007 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
Of Montreal with MGMT - November 2, 2007 @ Numbers in Houston, TX
Peter Bjorn & John - Friday, November 23, 2007 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
Old 97's - Saturday, December 29, 2007 @ La Zona Rosa in Austin, TX
The Bravery (x2) @ Warehouse Live
Built To Spill - October 18, 2006 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
My Morning Jacket with Yo La Tengo - Monday, March 10, 2008 @ Verizon Wireless Theater in Houston, TX
Built to Spill with Meat Puppets - March 3, 2008 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
The Cribs - March 11, 2008 @ Engine Room in Houston, TX
The Bravery with Phantom Planet - Saturday, March 22, 2008 @ Diamond Ballroom in Houston, TX
She Wants Revenge with Be Your Own Pet - Saturday, May 17, 2008 @ Meridian in Houston, TX
Son Volt with Bobby Bare Jr. @ Continental Club in Houston, TX
French Kicks with Young Mammals (Houston band) - Walter's in Houston, TX
Old 97's - May 15, 2008 @ Cactus Records in Houston, TX
Mates of State - Thursday, June 12, 2008 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
Stone Temple Pilots with Black Francis (Frank Black of The Pixies) - Saturday, June 28, 2008 @ Woodlands Pavilion in The Woodlands, TX
Harry & The Potters - July 8, 2008 @ Walter's in Houston, TX
Tilly & The Wall with Wild Moccasins (Houston band) - Friday, July 18, 2008 @ Engine Room in Houston, TX
Oh No! Oh My! - Thursday, August 28, 2008 in Houston, TX
Vampire Weekend, Mates of State, Del the Funky Homosapien, Jenny Lewis, Old 97's, Drive By Truckers, Jose Gonzalez, Bobby Bare Jr., CSS, MGMT, Iron & Wine, Conor Oberst, Beck (Austin City Limits Festival) - September 26-27, 2008 @ Zilker Park in Austin, TX
Ryan Adams & The Cardinals - Tuesday, October 14, 2008 @ Verizon Wireless Theater
The Ting Tings - Monday, October 20, 2008 @ House of Blues in Houston, TX
Weezer - Thursday, October 23, 2008 @ Reliant Arena in Houston, TX
Of Montreal - Wednesday, November 12, 2008 @ Warehouse Live in Houston, TX
Los Campesinos with Titus Andronicus - Thursday, January 30, 2009 @ Walter's in Houston, TX
Broken Social Scene - Monday, February 2, 2009 @ Numbers in Houston, TX
...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead @ Cactus Records, in Houston, TX
Andrew Bird - Saturday, March 21, 2009 @ House of Blues in Houston, TX
Ted Leo & The Pharmacists with Buxton (Houston band) - Saturday, April 11, 2009 @ KTRU Festival, Rice University in Houston, TX
Spoon - Wednesday, April 22, 2009 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Black Kids & Mates of State - Wednesday, April 29, 2009 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Flight of the Conchords - Wednesday, May 6, 2009 @ Jones Hall, Houston, TX
Bonnie Prince Billy - Thursday, June 4, 2009 @ Walter's, Houston, TX
Wild Moccasins - Tour kickoff, Thursday, Jun. 11 2009 @ Mango's, Houston, TX
Jenny Lewis with Heartless Bastards - Wednesday, June 24, 2009 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Death Cab for Cutie - Tuesday, July 14, 2009 @ Red Rocks, Morrison, CO
Octopus Project, Broken Social Scene, Explosions in the Sky, Prince Paul, Voxtrot, Buxton, Devin the Dude, Of Montreal - August 8-9, 2009 @ Eleanor Tinsley Park, Houston, TX
The Decemberists - Friday, October 2, 2009 @ House of Blues in Houston, TX
Young Mammals, Buxton - Saturday, November 14, 2009 @ 300-500 Westheimer, Houston, TX
Jay Reatard - Tuesday, December 8, 2009 @ Walter's, Houston, TX
The Flaming Lips (New Year's Eve Freakout & Dark Side of the Moon) - Thursday, December 31, 2009 @ Cox Convention Center, Oklahoma City, OK
Yo La Tengo & Times New Viking - Thursday, January 28, 2010 @ Warehouse Live, Houston TX
Fiery Furnaces & Drug Rug - Friday, January 29, 2010 @ Walter's, Houston, TX
Girls & Magic Kids - Sunday, January 31, 2010 @ Walter's, Houston, TX
Kingsley Flood, Grownup Noise, Cassavettes - Saturday, April 3, 2010 @ Middle East, Boston, MA
Tegan and Sara - Saturday, February 27, 2010 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Yeasayer - Friday, April 9, 2010 @ House of Blues, Houston, TX
Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Saturday, April 17, 2010 @ Mango's, Houston, TX
Local Natives and Suckers - Saturday, April 24, 2010 @ Mango's, Houston, TX
Wild Moccasins, Mix Master Mike, Medeski Martin & Wood, Ra Ra Riot, Girl Talk, Lucero, Stars, The Flaming Lips - Saturday, June 5 - Sunday, June 6, 2010 @ Eleanor Tinsley Park, Houston, TX
Tokyo Police Club, Passion Pit, and Brahms - Thursday, June 17, 2010 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Weird Al Yankovic - Saturday, July 17, 2010 @ Verizon Wireless Theater, Houston, TX
Autolux - Tuesday, September 7, 2010 @ Warehouse Live, Houston, TX
Local Natives and The Love Language - Thursday, October 7, 2010 @ House of Blues, Houston, TX
Born Ruffians - Wednesday, October 13, 2010 @ Fitzgerald's, Houston, TX
Best Coast - Saturday, November 6, 2010 @ Fitzgerald's, Houston, TX
Dr. Dog - Saturday, November 13, 2010 @ Cactus Records, Houston, TX
Surfer Blood - Tuesday, March 22, 2011 @ House of Blues, Houston, TX
Skatenigs - Thursday, March 24, 2011 @ Rudyard's, Houston, TX
Black Joe Lewis, Junior Brown, Big Boi, Tobacco, Ween, Yeasayer, Chromeo, Neon Indian, Cut Copy, Weezer - Saturday, June 4 - Sunday, June 5, 2011 @ Eleanor Tinsley Park, Houston, TX
tUnE-yArDs, M83, Girls, Neon Indian, Spoon, Mates of State, Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, Hum - Saturday, November 5 - Sunday, November 6, 2011 @ Auditorium Shores, Austin, TX

Happiness is a byproduct

2009-01-05T14:35:00.003-06:00

The "Quote of the Day" on my Google homepage must repeat every year, because I'm sure I've seen this one before. Nevertheless, it's so true:

Happiness is always a by-product. It is probably a matter of temperament, and for anything I know it may be glandular. But it is not something that can be demanded from life, and if you are not happy you had better stop worrying about it and see what treasures you can pluck from your own brand of unhappiness.
- Robertson Davies

Christmas wish list (work in progress)

2008-12-03T09:33:00.006-06:00

A few people have asked me what I want for Christmas. I'll start adding things here and will update it when I think of others:

Wall Decoration - More Of Montreal Goodness

2008-11-22T17:23:00.005-06:00

I picked up Of Montreal's new record, Skeletal Lamping, at Cactus Records this afternoon. It came with this interesting wall decoration, which I decided to throw on the wall in the entry way:

Skeletal Limping & Hissing Bankers, Are You the Destroyer?

2008-11-17T22:59:00.007-06:00

At the end of my last post, I lamented that most of my posts lack meaningful titles. Well, if I may be so bold as to self critique the title of this post, it's both witty and fitting. If you are not well versed in the brilliance that is Kevin Barnes' band Of Montreal, then I'll explain. The title of the most recent Of Montreal album is "Skeletal Lamping" and its predecessor was "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer". Sheila and I saw Of Montreal this past week. We ran our first marathon over the weekend. And I'll be attending an "End the Fed" rally across from the Houston Federal Reserve Bank this weekend. If you only have a cursory interest in my little world, feel free to move on to the next blog on your list since I've pretty much told you what I'm going to cover in this post.

The Of Montreal show turned out to be Wednesday night rather than Tuesday. I've done this to myself before, when I thought Built to Spill was coming to town a week earlier than they actually did.

The show was one of the most theatrical concerts I've seen. There were projectors, costumes, and skits to enhance the music. When the lyrics said "Ninjas! Groove..." they did. Mr. Barnes started the show glam, stripped down to almost nothing, and finished the show in nothing but whipped cream. Reading that may have the undeserved side effect of turning off the uninitiated, but trust me, the music is good enough to stand on its own. Here's a video I shot of them playing Skeletal Lamping's first single, "Id Engager", which opened the show. I also recorded them playing a medley of "For Our Elegant Caste", "Touched Something's Hollow", and "An Eluardian Instance".

While the Of Montreal show was exciting, even more so was finishing my first marathon. Sheila and I pushed ourselves through 26.2 miles in the inaugural San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon yesterday. We're both limping around today like old people but proud of our accomplishment. I'm a bit humbled by my 4:45 time; I had hoped for a 4:15 or a 4:30 finish.

Pretty much all of the soreness is in my quads. The dork socks I mentioned in my last post did the trick supporting my calves and I have no blisters whatsoever on my feet. I'm wondering if compression shorts might help with the quads when and if I ever decide to torture myself with another marathon. I'm giving myself most of this week to recover and replace some of the 5200 calories I burned. Then, I'm planning to get back to riding my bike and lifting weights. I'll still run from time to time, but it'll be great to have the freedom to do whatever sounds fun rather than training for a single event. Here's a picture of me with my medal shortly after I finished:

I'll end this post by plugging the "End the Fed" rally being held this Saturday, November 22 from 10 am - 1 pm in Bayou Park across from the Houston Federal Reserve Bank building. The modern day Paul Revere, Dr. Ron Paul, will be there to warn us that "The bankers are coming! The Bankers are coming!" Check out http://endthefed.us/ for more information on this nationwide event.

Oh yeah, and OU is gonna put an end to Texas Tech's undefeated season this Saturday. Boomer Sooner!

My latest adventures

2008-11-08T14:25:00.000-06:00

Again, too long between blog posts. My faithful readers are clammoring for more of my adventures. Right? Well, most likely not, but here it goes...

First, Sheila and I went to the ACL Festival in Austin about a month ago. It was the first time to go for both of us and we saw a ton of great bands including Vampire Weekend, Bobby Bare Jr, Mates of State, Jenny Lewis, Old 97's, Jose Gonzalez, Drive-By Truckers, Cansei de ser Sexy (CSS), MGMT, Conor Oberst, and Beck. Here's a video I took of Beck doing "Hell Yes":

Check out the rest of the videos I took here. I managed to escape without a sunburn thanks to liberal application of SPF 50 sunscreen and a hat, but the allergies were another story. Apparently, Austin is unofficially the allergy capital of the world. It hit me so hard I was sneezing constantly and wishing Tylenol made a "snot buckets" formula. But I had a blast. I can't wait to find out who will be there next year.

Other concerts I've been to recently include Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, The Ting Tings, and Weezer. The Ryan Adams show was at Verizon Wireless Theater. It was my third time to see him and he's one of those artists who sounds even better live. They played a lot of songs from their new album. I saw The Ting Tings at the new Houston House of Blues. I was not impressed with the place as a restaurant nor as a concert venue, but the band put on a good show. My only criticism would be that the amount of effort the two band members put into constantly jumping between instruments and grabbing them from roadies at just the right point in the song detracted from their performance a bit. Would it be THAT bad to add an extra member for touring? The Weezer show was at Reliant Arena. It was my second time to see them live. Highlights include a note-for-note perfect performance of Pink Floyd's "Time" and about 30 local amateur musicians playing a variety of instruments (guitars, flutes, saxaphones, trumpets, tubas, hand drums, etc.) with Weezer themselves just singing for a few songs (here's Island in the Sun). Even funnier was Rivers pointing to a couple people to play the solos in the songs.

I'm going to see Of Montreal on Tuesday night. They were amazing when I saw them the first time last year, so it should be another good show. Their new album is a bit schizophrenic, but who really wants to listen to a band who becomes formulaic and fails to evolve? Speaking of new music, I grabbed the new Ryan Adams on vinyl (complete with a bonus 7" and alternate cover art) last night. And I can't get Matt & Kim's new song "Daylight" out of my head. It's perfect to crank up while driving around with the windows down and sunroof open this time of year.

The guys from Guest Room Records in Oklahoma City/Norman have a podcast called "Shoes Are for Work". They play about 10 indie rock songs in each episode and discuss new releases. I highly recommend it if you're a music freak like I am.

And now, the running update. My marathon training has been going well since I picked up some SLS Compression Sox (AKA dork socks) a little over a month ago. My calves/feet are a lot less sore after running with them and they make longer runs much easier. Props to Brett for mentioning these on his Zen & The Art of Triathlon podcast. I've also taken his suggestion of doing 10 pushups for every mile on my shorter runs. Running six miles and doing 60 pushups in less than an hour is manly. I dare you to say otherwise.

I did a 20 mile run a couple weekends ago in about 3:30 and burned 3919 calories (that's more than a pound!) along the way:

That was a semi-relaxed pace, so hopefully I can finish the San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon next weekend in 4:15-4:30. Since this will be my first marathon, I'm trying not to be too concerned about the time.

I guess that's enough for this variety pack of the life and times of Andy. Maybe I should post more often so each entry can have a topic and a meaningful title. Hmmm...something to consider...

The only thing we learn from history is that we do not learn from history

2008-09-25T15:16:00.004-05:00

Here's an email I just received from Dr. Ron Paul with his take on the President's speech last night. He essentially elaborates on what I said in my letter to my representatives. Am I a good student or what?

Dear Friends:

The financial meltdown the economists of the Austrian School predicted has arrived.

We are in this crisis because of an excess of artificially created credit at the hands of the Federal Reserve System. The solution being proposed? More artificial credit by the Federal Reserve. No liquidation of bad debt and malinvestment is to be allowed. By doing more of the same, we will only continue and intensify the distortions in our economy - all the capital misallocation, all the malinvestment - and prevent the market's attempt to re-establish rational pricing of houses and other assets.

Last night the president addressed the nation about the financial crisis. There is no point in going through his remarks line by line, since I'd only be repeating what I've been saying over and over - not just for the past several days, but for years and even decades.

Still, at least a few observations are necessary.

The president assures us that his administration "is working with Congress to address the root cause behind much of the instability in our markets." Care to take a guess at whether the Federal Reserve and its money creation spree were even mentioned?

We are told that "low interest rates" led to excessive borrowing, but we are not told how these low interest rates came about. They were a deliberate policy of the Federal Reserve. As always, artificially low interest rates distort the market. Entrepreneurs engage in malinvestments - investments that do not make sense in light of current resource availability, that occur in more temporally remote stages of the capital structure than the pattern of consumer demand can support, and that would not have been made at all if the interest rate had been permitted to tell the truth instead of being toyed with by the Fed.

Not a word about any of that, of course, because Americans might then discover how the great wise men in Washington caused this great debacle. Better to keep scapegoating the mortgage industry or "wildcat capitalism" (as if we actually have a pure free market!).

Speaking about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the president said: "Because these companies were chartered by Congress, many believed they were guaranteed by the federal government. This allowed them to borrow enormous sums of money, fuel the market for questionable investments, and put our financial system at risk."

Doesn't that prove the foolishness of chartering Fannie and Freddie in the first place? Doesn't that suggest that maybe, just maybe, government may have contributed to this mess? And of course, by bailing out Fannie and Freddie, hasn't the federal government shown that the "many" who "believed they were guaranteed by the federal government" were in fact correct?

Then come the scare tactics. If we don't give dictatorial powers to the Treasury Secretary "the stock market would drop even more, which would reduce the value of your retirement account. The value of your home could plummet." Left unsaid, naturally, is that with the bailout and all the money and credit that must be produced out of thin air to fund it, the value of your retirement account will drop anyway, because the value of the dollar will suffer a precipitous decline. As for home prices, they are obviously much too high, and supply and demand cannot equilibrate if government insists on propping them up.

It's the same destructive strategy that government tried during the Great Depression: prop up prices at all costs. The Depression went on for over a decade. On the other hand, when liquidation was allowed to occur in the equally devastating downturn of 1921, the economy recovered within less than a year.

The president also tells us that Senators McCain and Obama will join him at the White House today in order to figure out how to get the bipartisan bailout passed. The two senators would do their country much more good if they stayed on the campaign trail debating who the bigger celebrity is, or whatever it is that occupies their attention these days.

F.A. Hayek won the Nobel Prize for showing how central banks' manipulation of interest rates creates the boom-bust cycle with which we are sadly familiar. In 1932, in the depths of the Great Depression, he described the foolish policies being pursued in his day - and which are being proposed, just as destructively, in our own:

Instead of furthering the inevitable liquidation of the maladjustments brought about by the boom during the last three years, all conceivable means have been used to prevent that readjustment from taking place; and one of these means, which has been repeatedly tried though without success, from the earliest to the most recent stages of depression, has been this deliberate policy of credit expansion.

To combat the depression by a forced credit expansion is to attempt to cure the evil by the very means which brought it about; because we are suffering from a misdirection of production, we want to create further misdirection - a procedure that can only lead to a much more severe crisis as soon as the credit expansion comes to an end... It is probably to this experiment, together with the attempts to prevent liquidation once the crisis had come, that we owe the exceptional severity and duration of the depression.

The only thing we learn from history, I am afraid, is that we do not learn from history.

The very people who have spent the past several years assuring us that the economy is fundamentally sound, and who themselves foolishly cheered the extension of all these novel kinds of mortgages, are the ones who now claim to be the experts who will restore prosperity! Just how spectacularly wrong, how utterly without a clue, does someone have to be before his expert status is called into question?

Oh, and did you notice that the bailout is now being called a "rescue plan"? I guess "bailout" wasn't sitting too well with the American people.

The very people who with somber faces tell us of their deep concern for the spread of democracy around the world are the ones most insistent on forcing a bill through Congress that the American people overwhelmingly oppose. The very fact that some of you seem to think you're supposed to have a voice in all this actually seems to annoy them.

I continue to urge you to contact your representatives and give them a piece of your mind. I myself am doing everything I can to promote the correct point of view on the crisis. Be sure also to educate yourselves on these subjects - the Campaign for Liberty blog is an excellent place to start. Read the posts, ask questions in the comment section, and learn.

H.G. Wells once said that civilization was in a race between education and catastrophe. Let us learn the truth and spread it as far and wide as our circumstances allow. For the truth is the greatest weapon we have.

In liberty,

Ron Paul

No bailouts! A letter to my senators and congressman.

2008-09-22T22:59:00.004-05:00

Filled with disgust over what is happening to our economy without our consent, I sent the following to my senators and congressman. I encourage everyone to do the same:

I, like many of my fellow Americans, am deeply troubled by the precarious position of our economy right now. Artificially low interest rates and easy credit have contributed to this looming crisis. Poor investments SHOULD NOT be rewarded with government bailouts at the expense of taxpayers who did not cause the problem nor benefit from the excess that allowed it to happen. The federalization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have Thomas Jefferson rolling in his grave. Our economy is growing less and less free and I fear our individual freedoms will soon follow if action is not taken to stop it.

I urge you to vote "NO" on any legislation that rewards bad business decisions and encourages their continuation. More and more power is being consolidated in the Executive Branch and the private banking cartel known as the Federal Reserve. We the people are relying on you, our voice in Washington, to do all you can to stop it.

Ohhhhhhklahoma! Where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

2008-09-18T20:34:00.007-05:00

I hightailed it out of Houston last Wednesday when it was pretty clear Ike was gonna slap us around. Unlike most of those trying to evacuate, I eschewed the ever popular I-10 and I-45 routes for Highway 6. I followed that up through Waco and then hit I-35 up to my parents' in Oklahoma City. Along the way, I enjoyed another non-Dominican cigar and cranked the tunes.

Since I've been in OKC, I've made the most of it. Power was out in our office, so I didn't do any work until Tuesday. I hit Guest Room Records on the north side of town where I picked up the Black Kids' "Partie Traumatic", Hot Hot Heat's "Make Up the Breakdown", Ryan Adams' "Follow the Lights" EP, The Cure's "Staring at the Sea", and Pink Floyd's "The Wall" on vinyl. While I love my Cactus, Guest Room is a helluva store. They also have a store in Norman, home of my alma mater, OU (Boomer Sooner!), which I plan to visit on my way out of town.

I've done a lot hanging out with friends. We went to Electro Lounge one night and I was thoroughly impressed. Great beer selection (Sierra Nevada, Stone, Unibroue, etc.) and an amazing jukebox (Tokyo Police Club, Silversun Pickups, Peter Bjorn and John, The Pixies, Flaming Lips, and on and on). My kind of place! We hit Maker's in Bricktown another night for cigars and cocktails. I saw the Flaming Lips Alley street sign for the first time there but unfortunately I wasn't able to get a good picture of it with my phone.

Last night, we watched some friends' band play happy hour at Mickey Mantle's downtown. After that, we ended up at Buffalo Wild Wings for karaoke. It's been quite awhile since I did it, but I rose above the mediocrity of many of my fellow karaokers (okay, so that may not really be a word) to deliver an animated performance of John Michael Montgomery's "Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)". My friend Jeremy was nice enough to capture some video of it for your enjoyment:

I'm so ready to head back to H-Town, but dreading the stench in my fridge. I still have no power, but luckily Sheila snagged us a place where we can stay for a couple weeks if necessary. As Bobby Bare said, I'm "going back to Houston Houston Houston".

What do you get when you cross an elephant with a RINO?

2008-09-08T20:18:00.002-05:00

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. But I'll give you a little help understanding this one. "RINO" is a news junkie acronym meaning "Republican in name only". The elephant is the mascot of the Republican party. Talk amongst yourselves...

The Beast and Dragon, Adored

2008-09-06T10:53:00.005-05:00

It's high time I post another blog! So first, why the title? Spoon's "Gimme Fiction" is spinning on my record player at the moment and that's the first song. I dig it and you should, too.

I've been busy, so I could go on and on about all the cool stuff I've done lately. I'll do my best to fill you in without rambling too much.

First, Sheila and I took a long weekend and went to New Orleans. We stayed at the Maison Dupuy Hotel in the French Quarter, a few blocks from Bourbon Street. Belive it or not, this was my first visit to Nawlins, so we made sure to do all the touristy stuff. I had coffee and beignets at Cafe Dumonde, rode the St. Charles streetcar to the Garden District, hung out in Jackson Square, took a moonlit carriage ride, and had food & drinks aplenty.

I went on a Houston Ghost Tour a few weeks ago. It exposed me to a lot of H-Town's history as well as some of its more spooky places. We made stops at The Brewery Tap, Jefferson Davis Hospital (named after the Confederate general), College Memorial Cemetery, Founders Cemetery, and the Spaghetti Warehouse to name a few. In an effort to dress for the occaision, I wore a Ghostbusters t-shirt and falsely claimed "I ain't afraid of no ghost." When offered a chance to venture alone into the upstairs women's restroom at the Spaghetti Warehouse, supposedly one of the most haunted places in town, I declined even after much prodding. I think I made the right decision. The tour guide said the last guy the did it came out with a pale face and refused to talk about what he saw. No thanks, I don't need any of THAT.

On the concert front, I saw Austin's Oh No! Oh My! at Walter's last week. I'm not sure if it was the Obama's "feel good" speech at the DNC or something else going on, but there was hardly anyone there. The lack of a crowd made for a great show and some good video:

I'm stoked about the shows coming up! I already have tickets for Ryan Adams. Of Montreal, Kings of Leon, The Stills, We Are Scientists, and Ben Folds are all coming in the next few months. I'm not sure if I'll make it to all of those, but Of Montreal is a must see. Sheila and I are also considering a trip to Austin for the ACL festival. So many great bands in the lineup!

I'll finish with a quick rundown of our trip to Ron Paul's Rally for the Republic this past weekend. We caught a van out of Dallas sponsored by Liberty Dollar for the long drive up to Minneapolis. In an attempt to downplay the less than ideal aspects of the trek, we considered it an adventure. How often do you get to use the bathroom in six different states in the same day?!

While in Minneapolis, we visited the Mall of America (the largest mall in the country, complete with an indoor amusement park) and went to an outdoor concert where Ron Paul supporter Aimee Allen among others played. Ron Paul spoke after the bands finished. One of the great things about a statesman like Dr. Paul is that his message is consistent. While I never get tired of hearing it, we left early to get to Club Jager for the after party. Imagine a bar full of like-minded true patriots (as opposed to the globalists who name legislation the "Patriot Act" in order to limit debate and ram it through Congress). We shared drinks and stories with Ron Paulers from all over the country - Alaska, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts to name a few.

The rally itself was a sight to behold. A crowd of over 10,000 packed into the Target Center in Minneapolis to hear speeches from people like Lew Rockwell, Jesse Ventura, Barry Goldwater Jr. and Dr. Ron Paul. The crowd cheered for five minutes before Dr. Paul could even begin speaking. Spontaneous chants like "End the Fed!" and "No ID!" popped up throughout his speech. I highly recommend watching it to get a better understanding of how our republic is slipping away and with it the freedoms in the Bill of Rights. Here's Part 1, be sure to watch Parts 2-5 on YouTube:

Speaking of freedoms being lost, Ron Paul delegates to the RNC had all of their Ron Paul materials CONFISCATED by security at the convention. See this article for the details. This has been confirmed with some of the Texas delegates who were there. Note that the quote in the article about the convention being "McCain territory" was BEFORE HE WAS NOMINATED! So much for the 4th Amendment! Please realize that this election is a choice between socialism (Obama) and fascism (McCain), neither of which are the government intended by our Constitution. Wake up, America!

I'll step off my soapbox now as I head to the gun show and shooting range to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights while they still exist...

NObama Sticker Added

2008-08-25T21:45:00.003-05:00

I added a "NObama" sticker to VoteNeither08.com. Check it out at:

http://www.voteneither08.com/dnn/tabid/54/ProductID/2/Default.aspx

I promise I'll get back to the irregularly scheduled blogging eventually...

VoteNeither08.com launched!

2008-08-17T15:37:00.002-05:00

For each sticker purchased, a dollar will be donated to the political organization you select. Choose from the Campaign for Liberty, the Libertarian Party, or the Constitution Party. Check it out at www.voteneither08.com!

Astros vs Mets & some new records

2008-08-03T22:40:00.008-05:00

Sheila took me to this past Friday's Astros vs Mets game. She got the tickets from a friend and they were great seats, 13 rows back from the Astros dugout. The game was tied most of the way through until a grand slam broke it open for the Astros. After the game, they opened the roof and treated us to an amazing fireworks show. That's me cheesin' with my ticket up above.

I was not looking forward to the chore of finding a reasonably priced parking spot not far from the park. But we lucked into a FREE parking spot in a lot only a few blocks from the ballpark. What's more, I was pretty proud of my expert back-in parking job in the tightly packed lot. Here I am showing it off:

I've been taking it easy from running lately, so I don't have any insane long runs to report in this post. Yesterday, I ran some errands which included a long overdue visit to my beloved Cactus Records. I was super stoked to find a copy of one of my favorite Wilco albums, "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" along with The Libertine's "Up the Bracket". Sheila and I also spotted the 45 for Debbie Gibson's "Shake Your Love". Cheesy mall pop, yes, but you gotta love the nostalgia factor. While my record player may never forgive me for playing such teeny bop with the same needle that has played original Jimi Hendrix records, it gave us a nice laugh.

We finally checked out The Dark Knight last night to see what all the hype was about. The late Mr. Ledger breathed new life into the Joker, giving a much darker portrayal than did Mr. Nicholson. Overall, it was a pretty good movie, but nothing I'd wait in line to see at midnight on the night it premiered.

I made sure I hit the gym early this afternoon for a light workout. But other than that, I've been taking it easy today - by the pool and on the couch for the most part. I'll be working downtown at a client's for the next month or two starting tomorrow. For about the last year, I've been either in our small, informal office or working from home. I'm sure I'll have some riveting blogging about my return to a proper office environment for you soon...

My Epic 17 Mile Run & Other Moderately Fascinating Stuff

2008-07-20T16:50:00.006-05:00

I haven't blogged for about three weeks! While I have the occasional reader, I don't think anyone's had to deal with a huge hole in their lives as a result of my absence. I could blame it on the heat or the fact that we're now more than halfway through the year and I've taken a total of one day of vacation so far. But I guess I don't have any real reason other than I just didn't feel like it. So what have I been up to? Mainly, I've been doing the work thing, going to concerts, trying to stay on my marathon training plan, and hanging out with Sheila. (Incidentally, the optional comma before the "and" is known an oxford comma and is also the name of a bad ass Vampire Weekend song...)

I guess I'll start with the concerts. I saw Harry and the Potters @ Walter's on July 8. If you're a fan of the Harry Potter books and haven't heard of this band, check them out! All of their songs are (loosely) based on the books and they are hilarious! Here's a video I took of "The Weasel". That's a guy in a squid costume jumping on stage to play the drums:

This past Friday, we saw Tilly and the Wall play at the Engine Room. Sheila is a big fan and while I've heard a few of their albums, I really like their latest, "O". Before this album, their percussion consisted of a tap dancer. Yep, the only indie rock band I know of that has a tap dancer. With "O", they added a drummer to reinforce the tap dancing. Here's the song they opened with, "Too Excited":

A local band called Wild Moccasins opened for Tilly. Like the Young Mammals, this band is another set of whippersnappers with buckets of talent. Who knew Houston had music of this caliber? I thought all we had given to the music world was sizzurp, grills, and Mike Jones' phone number ad nauseum.

My running has been going well. A couple weeks ago, Sheila and I set out midday for a 14 mile run in the Bayou Park/Memorial Park area. The heat was almost unbearable, but I did manage to finish. Sheila, being a bit more sane, cut her run short and logged eight miles. We decided that we would start our long run early this morning, so we set out around 6:45 am. We ran from my place to Terry Hershey park and ran through the park for a bit before turning around to head back. I did 17 miles in three hours and 13 minutes. Sheila turned around at mile seven so she did 14 miles. Overall, I felt pretty good, especially considering that I burned 3500 calories (that's a pound!) along the way. After the run, I ate the first of many post-run meals and took a well deserved nap. And now, I'm heading to the fridge for some well deserved beer...

STP Concert Videos

2008-07-01T20:42:00.002-05:00

The Stone Temple Pilots concert this past Saturday ROCKED! See my videos on YouTube for proof, you skeptics. I didn't see them "back in the day" so it was great to finally get the chance. Only two things could have made it better - new songs (where are they, guys?) and reasonable prices for beer (they were $10 for a 24 oz Shiner). But as I said before, I'm not much of a ranter so I'll leave it at that.

Here's "Dead and Bloated", one of the most rockinest (that's my "Aww yeah!" a few seconds into the song):

The 2nd Amendment, a sweet Huey Lewis cover, and the standard "what I did this week" stuff

2008-06-27T19:56:00.006-05:00

Maybe I still haven't gotten the hang of this blogging stuff. Most people rant about one thing per entry. I'm not much of a ranter and my posts tend to jump topics like Sam Beckett jumps through time. Then again, it's my blog so I guess I'll keep on keepin' on. So on with the show...

First, the Supreme Court upheld the 2nd Amendment earlier this week as they overturned Washington DC's 32 year-old handgun ban. As the federal government tramples on the Constitution, it's refreshing to see it being respected for a change. Too bad we don't have a liberty-minded candidate in the presidential race any more. But I'll take what I can get.

While listening to my favorite Sirius satellite radio station (Left of Center) earlier this week, I heard an awesome cover of Huey Lewis' song "If This Is It" by Throw Me the Statue. I grew up with Mr. Lewis and his friends "The News" so in true indie rock fan fashion, I nodded my head extra smugly as I listened.

My buddy Dr. J raced in his first bike race at Memorial Park this past Wednesday. Sheila and I were there to cheer him on. We showed up just after the race started and spent the first couple laps we watched trying to pick him out of the pack as they flew by at 25+ mph. After the main pack passed each time, there was a much smaller group trailing them. I'd love to give it a try after I finish the marathon I'm training for, but must confess I don't want to find myself in the group people are cheering for just to be nice.

After the bike race, Sheila and I met up with the Houston Philosophy Meetup for a discussion on freedom, a topic near and dear to my heart. It was interesting, although not near as contentious as the last discussion I went to about Ayn Rand.

And tomorrow, Sheila is taking me to see Stone Temple Pilots! I've been a fan since high school but have never had the chance to see them live. I was thrilled to hear they finally got back together for another tour. Hopefully I'll have some video from that in my next post.

Finally, I was very disappointed to find out that there was a Sexy Attack at the Lebowski Bash over the weekend and we missed it! But as they say, you never know when and where sexy will attack...

Omnipresent Saturday

2008-06-21T19:45:00.007-05:00

What a great Saturday! Sheila and I started it off bright and early at Terry Hershey park to get our long run out of the way before it got too hot. I knocked out a 12 miler in just over two hours at a 10:30 minute/mile pace. I had an average heart rate of 173 bpm and burned 2676 calories. Not bad before 10 am, huh? Sheila rocked a 9 mile run and was waiting for me at the end.

After the run, we hit Chick-Fil-A to chow on chicken sandwiches and waffle fries. We ate by the pool and then cooled off for a bit in the water. Then it was time for a well deserved nap. We started watching There Will Be Blood after the nap until the power went out as an intense but short-lived storm rolled in. We took it in on my balcony where we sipped beer and listened to my iPod while I savored a fine non-Dominican cigar.

In a little while, we'll get our Saturday night underway. That brings me to the subject of this post...

There is an INSANE amount of stuff going on tonight! And all of it sounds like fun, which makes me wish for the omnipresence only the good Lord enjoys. Check out this list:

The Lebowski Bash - celebrating the 10th anniversary of the cinematic genius that is The Big Lebowski
My fellow Ron Paulers are meeting at Pappasito's to celebrate our victories at the State GOP Convention last weekend. Yes, there will be Texas Ron Paul delegates at the National Convention in St. Paul!
My homebrew club is having a meeting. This particular meeting involves steaks (BTW, I just won a $200 package from Omaha Steaks!) as well as a ridiculous selection of Brown Ales, Amber Ales, and American Pale Ales.
My friend Joe is having a massive party at his house.

Of course if I won't be making it to any of these, what will I be doing? An 80's skate party! There will be kegs, 80's music, and people dressed in the stylish garb of that beloved decade. I have selected a Guns N Roses t-shirt and a red bandana to wear (you know I'll be pegging my jeans, too). I'm sure you're thinking I could do better, but I hit Buffalo Exchange, Taxi Taxi, and Leopard Lounge on Westheimer last weekend looking for something to wear. Midway through the trio of stores, I started to feel pretty bad and ended up being sick for a couple days. So GNR it is. It should be a fun time!

Vinyl LP Record Is 60 Years Old Today

2008-06-21T12:39:00.003-05:00

I just got an email from Sound Stage Direct, one of my favorite online record stores, which said the vinyl LP record is 60 years old today (invented June 21, 1948 by Peter Goldmark). I searched good ol' YouTube and found the video below which does a good job of providing some history about the format as well as some insight into how exactly records are made. Very interesting...

Mates of State Concert & Restaurant Stuff

2008-06-15T15:16:00.003-05:00

Sheila, R.B., P.X. and I saw Mates of State this past Thursday at Warehouse Live. I've really been digging their new album, Re-Arrange Us and it was my first time to see them live. For only two people, their unique combination of keyboard, drums, and vocal harmony makes for a nice, full sound. I picked their latest up on vinyl, which overflowed my record collection into its 2nd crate.

Here's a video I took of "Get Better" and "Think Long":

Sheila surprised me with the Fearless Critic's guide to Houston restaurants and since I've been wanting some Korean food for awhile now, we checked the reviews and decided to try Bonga the other night. I lived in Korea a couple times as a kid when my dad was stationed there, so I was familiar with a few of the dishes. We shared bulgogi and kimchi, two of the most well-known. It was great to try something new and the review gave us confidence that we wouldn't be disappointed. We weren't. The guide gave it a grade of A- and I have to agree. Very tasty stuff at a reasonable price.

We met some friends at Onion Creek for dinner last night, mainly because I wanted to try Saint Arnold Divine Reserve #6, a limited release beer OC has on draft. This edition is an Amercian Barleywine and for those of you who aren't beer geeks, think of running to the record store when your favorite band puts out a new album. Only replace record store with Spec's and album with limited edition microbrew. In other words, something to get excited about if you're into such things. The beer weighs in at a hefty 10% abv, so a couple pints was all I could endure in one sitting.

This morning, I wanted some non-corporate coffee, so I decided to stop by Cafe Artiste for some. I was very disappointed to find the parking lot empty and a "For Lease" sign in the window. That was such a great place! It will be missed...

French Kicks Show, New Records, and a 10 Mile Run

2008-06-08T23:31:00.004-05:00

Once again, I packed a lot of fun into the weekend. Sheila and I went to the French Kicks concert at Walter's on Friday night with some friends. Houston's own Young Mammals (formerly The Dimes) opened and made me a fan almost instantly. It was my second time to see the French Kicks and they put on a great show yet again.

I took it easy Saturday. I got a humidor for some quality cigars I recently procured and then paid another visit to my music mecca, Cactus Records. There was a DJ spinning classic blues records at Cactus and Saint Arnold once again provided free beer. I sipped a beer as I flipped through the new records. I had planned to get the Spoon records I needed to complete my collection (I already had Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga and Series of Sneaks), but was also excited to find Born Ruffians' latest as well. So my collection now includes:

So other than the hard to find Telephono & Soft Effects, my Spoon vinyl collection is now complete.

I finished the weekend off with a 10 mile run at Terry Hershey park. It was my first time to run there and the rolling hills were a nice change from the flats I usually run. I averaged about 10:30/mile, which is a little slower than I'd like but I took one minute walk breaks every eight minutes to avoid wearing myself out. I finished up with 2100 calories burned, which I promptly started replacing with a Chipotle burrito and some Saint Arnold Amber. I'm beat but feeling pretty accomplished. Off to bed to now to sleep like a baby...

Obama: The Political Joel Osteen

2008-06-08T14:38:00.011-05:00

Now that Hillary has bowed out of the race for the Democratic nomination, I've been giving some thought to who is the lesser of two evils: Obama or McCain. I don't plan to vote for either of them (I'm a libertarian/strict constitutionalist), but require myself to have an opinion on how far they are from ideal. I may deal with McCain in a future post, but today I'll address Obama.

I'll admit it, Obama is slick. The guy has the charm and oratorical skills it takes to be a politician. Crowds pack auditoriums and roar at his every word. But what is he saying?

In my opinion, Senator Obama is to politics as Joel Osteen is to religion. Both offer hope (Sound familiar? It is the former's campaign slogan, after all.) with happy thoughts but little basis in reality. Quite an incendiary and bold statement, huh? Let me back it up with facts.

Wikipedia's entry on Joel Osteen says:

On the December 23, 2007 edition of Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace brought up criticisms of Osteen's lack of Scripture reference in his sermons, as well as his hesitancy to discuss sin as an integral part of life. Osteen responded: "And I am ultimately trying to do that, but I'm trying to teach people how to live their everyday lives, and so I do focus on it, probably not as much as some people would like."

Barack Obama's issues page says the following under health care:

"I...believe that every American has the right to affordable health care. I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...We now face an opportunity - and an obligation - to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates. It's time to bring together businesses, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this crisis, and it's time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair." -Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, 5/27/07

Well that sounds great, doesn't it? But really, what is the substance behind the sentiment? Yes, health care is a growing problem in our country, and yes, something should be done about it. But what is his plan? The detail page on the campaign site continues in this vein with more rosy thinking and "wouldn't it be nice" rhetoric.

Like most politicians (and Mr. Osteen), Obama avoids talking about reality whenever it is unpleasant. As I read Obama's plans for addressing the health care issue, I had one question, "Who is going to pay for it?" As I read the FAQ page on the plan, I found the answer at the bottom:

Q. How will we pay for the Obama plan?

A. The Obama plan will realize tremendous savings within the health care system to help finance the plan. The additional revenue needed to fund the up-front investments in technology and to help people who cannot afford health insurance is more than covered by allowing the Bush tax cuts to expire for people making more than $250,000 per year, as they are scheduled to do.

Ahh... There it is. The successful, productive people who have "more than enough money" will fund it. This of course fails Ayn Rand's test for the validity of a social program: "At the expense of whom?" and "By what right?"

I doubt we'll hear that higher taxes will pay for anything promised in Obama's riveting "Change we can believe in" speeches. I also doubt most of his supporters will think beyond the surface of Obama's slick words to see that more government is his solution for just about everything.

Fire at will with your comments. But if you wish to engage me, please use facts rather than personal attacks ("I disagree because..." rather than something inane like "You're stupid").

Shampoo for My Shaved Head & A Lesson in the Metric System

2008-06-05T19:30:00.004-05:00

Today I stopped by my local Sport Clips to get some more shampoo. Yes, even shaved heads need to be washed with quality shampoo. Trust me, it's that much more important when people can see every inch of your scalp. I go with the Paul Mitchell Tea Tree stuff. At first, I liked it for the tingly sensation, but I guess my head is way too cool for that now because I don't feel a thing when I use it. But my hair always looks great (ha ha ha, I know) so I continue using it.

As I perused the shampoo selection and various sizes, I noticed a 1L mega size alongside my usual 500ml size. Since there were no prices on them, I asked the girl behind the counter what the price difference was between the two sizes. She told me, and even though the larger size contained twice as much as the other size, the price was a little less than double. I said something along those lines more to myself than to her and she said, "No, it's three times the shampoo." I was a bit confused by her statement because I learned the metric system in elementary school and 1L = 1000ml = 2 x 500ml. I pointed this out and she said, "Hmm, I learn something new every day." To downplay my intellectual superiority and to make her feel better for not knowing, I said, "Well, if you tell people it's three times as much, maybe you'll sell more." Now I wonder to myself whether she'll do just that or try to impress people with her newfound knowledge of the metric system...

Triptych

2008-06-03T21:20:00.003-05:00

Sheila recently schooled me on a heretofore unknown type of art in my little world called a triptych. Ever the overachieving student, I was quick to point out one I saw when we checked out the Mixed Media Music Series at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts a couple weekends ago. I find it odd that once I learn about something, be it a new word or topic, I start noticing it everywhere.

So, I was not surprised but still excited to learn that one of my favorite quirky indie rock bands, We Are Scientists, has a triptych of sorts in their videos for This Scene is Dead, Worth the Wait, and It's a Hit (Alternative). The videos are eerie in that for the most part, there is virtually no movement from the three band members. When there is, it's bizarre and completely unexpected.

Here's the first in the series, which happens to be one of my favorite WAS songs:

The Flying Tomato

2008-06-02T09:57:00.006-05:00

Yes, it's been over a week yet again since my last post. If I actually had some readers, this would be a bad thing. But since I don't, I guess it doesn't really matter much. If anyone does read this drivel, please leave a comment so I can feel good about myself. Actually, I don't need anyone to make me feel good about myself, but it would be nice to know you're reading this.

I, like hundreds of other people yesterday ventured out to Bayou Park for the grand opening of the Lee and Joe Jamail Skate Park. For those of you who haven't been following its construction, this is a FREE public skate park just outside of downtown. I dabbled in skateboarding back in 6th & 7th grade and still hop on my board from time to time to ride back and forth like I'm cool. I really feel like the old guy at the skate park, but the kids don't seem to mind and I try to stay out of their way. I didn't skate yesterday, and instead joined the crowd around the side of the "expert" bowl. We were treated to demos by some of the top pro skaters, most of whom I didn't recognize since I followed the sport much more closely "back in the day". But none other than Shaun White (Olympic gold medal snowboarder, aka The Flying Tomato) was there only on a skateboard. I felt very privileged to see him in action. Awesome!

In other news, Sheila and I saw the Old 97's at Meridian on Friday. They played a bunch of songs from their new album. There was even a wedding proposal on stage during the sugary sweet "Question". I'm liking their new album more and more each time I listen to it.

I also saw the new Indiana Jones movie over the weekend. It fit nicely with the others and seemed to prepare Shia LaBeouf to take on the role of Indy in the next movie. I guess we'll see. My only beef with the movie was the odd ending, but it is George Lucas, after all.

I finally managed to try some of Southern Star Brewing's beer at The Flying Saucer over the weekend. Southern Star is a new brewery up near Conroe that was started by a guy I know from my homebrew club and one of his friends. I tried their Pine Belt Pale Ale and really liked it. Hop nectar, for sure. Good luck, guys!

Back to work...

Sexy Marathon Art Attack

2008-05-22T11:13:00.013-05:00

That's a pretty nonsensical title, huh? It's been a week since my last post and I've had all kinds of fun in the meantime.

I did the Saturday early morning bike ride again with my buddies Dr J and R.B. Some poor girl who joined the ride for the first time ended up wiping out taking a turn too fast and denting a car's front fender with her helmet. Aside from that, we had a great ride. Dr J turned on the speed with his fancy new Zipp wheels (for you geeks, their site is running DotNetNuke!) and I kept up for the most part. We averaged about 20 mph and my top speed was 28 mph, which is hauling ass given the flat route we were on. After the ride, we determined that my derailer was popping out of gear due to a wheel problem (they were the original wheels and have somewhere over 2000 miles on them), so my faithful steed got a new set of wheels. I look forward to trying them out on my next ride.

Dr J decided he didn't want to work on Saturday so he joined R.B. and me for what has become our regular post bike ride trip to the shooting range. Maybe we should start calling it bikes n bullets or something catchy like that. It was Dr J's first time to shoot a gun, but years of video gaming have made him into a sharp-shooting assassin. He hit the center of the target pretty consistently. The highlight of the shooting range trip was his exclamation that "Guns are awesome!" as we were leaving. I do love the 2nd Amendment...

Saturday night R.B. and I went to the She Wants Revenge show at Meridian. Other than the punks fighting in front of the stage, it was a great show. The Virgins opened and while we only caught the end of their set, I really dug their slinky sound. Be Your Own Pet followed them and their front woman was about to explode with all the energy she put into every song. She Wants Revenge were also great. We killed one of those $5 pizzas the guy sells out in front of the venue after the show.

Here's a somewhat dark and grainy video of She Wants Revenge doing "True Romance", but the sound turned out pretty good:

Sheila was out of town for most of the weekend, but we caught up on Sunday. I've been spending as much time as I can with her lately and still can't get enough of her. We both signed up for the inaugural San Antonio Rock N Roll Marathon on November 16 and decided to train for it together. We went on our first run together at Rice earlier this week and even though she warned me that she wasn't in top running shape, she had me going at a pretty intense pace towards the end. That was my first "running date" ever. Very sexy...

Speaking of sexy, Sheila and I met some friends for drinks at the Darkhorse Tavern last night before heading to an art show at Winter Street Studios. As we were talking over drinks, P.X. (X because I don't know her last name) mentioned a performance art group called Sexy Attack. In a nutshell, they descend on unsuspecting people in public at grocery stores, libraries, restaurants, etc. dressed in skimpy 80's outfits and spontaneously perform a choreographed dance routine. The idea alone is hilarious, but the actual video is even more so! Be sure to check out their performance at Montrose's "Disco Kroger" as an example.

The art show at Winter Street Studios was interesting. They had free beer and Wild Turkey (my whiskey of choice). As we sipped our drinks, a variety of artists discussed their work. One guy read a couple of essays about two topics near and dear to my heart: political activism and bicycling. I enjoyed being exposed to new things I typically wouldn't have known about on my own.

After the art show, we went to one of Sheila's favorite bars, Absinthe. It was my first time to have Absinthe. It packed a punch, but I had to force it down given its black licorice taste, which I utterly despise (Black Jack gum and Jager? Ugh...). I highly recommend their pizza. We each ordered different pizzas and shared them. They were all delicious. Last night was "Bring Your Own Ipod" night at the bar, and the bartender was nice enough to leave mine on for a bit. When I picked it up at the end of the night, he complimented me on my taste in music. Very cool.

A buddy of mine from Oklahoma City was in town for work earlier this week, so Sheila and I took him and his coworkers out to show them a slice of our fair city. We started at Onion Creek for beer and food. Then we moved on to the Gingerman. They seemed to enjoy the variety that H-Town has to offer over our hometown.

Here's hoping my next post will follow in less than a week...

Trying to work from home, videos from Old 97's in store yesterday @ Cactus Records

2008-05-16T14:21:00.009-05:00

I'm working from home today as I usually do on Fridays. The internet connection at our office keeps going down so I'm unable to connect to my work computer. So, while I wait for it to come back up, I figured I'd post a little something.

The Old 97's in store at Cactus Records yesterday was a blast. Saint Arnold provided free beer and a fairly large crowd was treated to a rockin' set from the Old 97's. They primarily played songs from their new album, Blame It On Gravity, but played some old favorites, too. I uploaded some video I took on YouTube, where I also have a slew of video from other concerts I've been to over the past few years. Here's one of my favorites, "Timebomb":

After they played, my friend R.B. and I went across the street to the Stag's Head. We had a cask-conditioned Saint Arnold Elissa IPA, some other beers, and fish & chips. As if that wasn't enough, we decided to hit the Gingerman in Rice Village for some more big beers. I had a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale (7.2% ABV) and a Unibroue La Fin Du Monde (which means "end of the world" in French, at 9% ABV it often can be).

Sheila turned me on to a blog called Surviving Myself, which I find very entertaining. He writes about thought-provoking things like which Saved By The Bell character he wants to be and the perils of going into Sephora for cologne, both of which I can completely relate to. Someday soon, I hope to write about something more interesting than "what I did today". Stay tuned for that exciting breakthrough...

One more thing... I highly recommend the new Death Cab For Cutie and Mates Of State albums. They rock rock ROCK!

Fun birthday, great week for music

2008-05-13T23:07:00.010-05:00

I've been slacking on the posting, so I'll do my best to catch up on the last week or so of my super exciting life. I had a great birthday last Thursday. To start it off, Sheila posted a happy birthday message for me on her blog. She also made me some awesome cupcakes for my birthday. We went out to dinner at Patrenella's with a few friends. Then we all hung out at my place drinking beer and listening to records.

I had a great day off on Friday just being lazy. I got to meet Sheila's mom and some of her friends on Saturday. I was a little nervous, but they were all really nice.

I picked up some new records on Sunday at Cactus Records:

Spoon - Series of Sneaks (one of my favorite Spoon albums)
Tokyo Police Club - Elephant Shell (I can't get enough of this lately, it's great for running)
Arctic Monkeys - Whatever People Say I Am That's What I'm Not (awesome Brit rawk)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pershing (how is that for a great indie band name?)

Speaking of music, there are a couple great shows this week. The Old 97's are doing an in-store at Cactus Records on Thursday and She Wants Revenge are playing at Meridian on Saturday night. A friend and I are planning to check out both. I'm looking forward to it!

I guess that's it for now...

Thoughts on 30

2008-05-07T23:38:00.006-05:00

As I'm staring down 30 (tomorrow at 7:01 pm Central to be exact) I should probably blog about how awful it is, but now that it's inevitable, I really don't think it's all that scary. I pretty much act like I'm six as often as I can. I've worn one of my favorite t-shirts, a He-Man ringer, for years. I just recently picked up a 'Vote Optimus 08' Transformers t-shirt, too. Yep, still very much a kid. But along the way, I have learned a few things.

The meaning of life? Enjoy it. That's all. If there's something in your life keeping you from doing that, get rid of it. Whether it's a job you dread or people you despise, do what you can to change the situation. An obvious exception is family. All you can do is try to get along with them.

Keeping up with the Joneses? An utter waste of time. If your existence is so hollow that you think material possessions are a substitute for living, figure out who you are and quit comparing yourself to others.

Music can heal all wounds. It's a cure-all for any bad mood and the perfect complement to any good one.

What other people think about you is irrelevant. Be yourself regardless of what others think. True happiness comes from being surrounded by people who like you for who you are, not for living up to some ideal the shallow people try to hold you to.

I'll add to this as I think of things, but I'd better get to bed. I need to rest up for what will most likely be a late night of celebrating. Sheila & I are meeting some friends for dinner and drinks. And I'm planning on taking Friday off so I won't be holding anything back.

Camping @ Pace Bend & A New Personal Record For Downhill Speed!

2008-05-04T17:34:00.009-05:00

I had a great time camping this weekend with some friends at Pace Bend Park next to Lake Travis, TX. For the most part, we just hung out enjoying tasty beer (Saint Arnold's Lawnmower/Summer Pilsner/Amber and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for you connoisseurs), a fine Cuban cigar, and the perfect weather. One of the highlights of the trip for me was setting a new personal record for downhill speed on our 35 mile bike ride around the lake. Before that ride, my max downhill speed was somewhere between 40-45 mph. Yesterday, I topped out at 51.2 mph (can I get a "Hell yeah!"?) going down the biggest hill of the ride. I was literally shaking at the bottom of the hill from the rush. What a thrill! This one downhill made up for all the grueling climbs and the slight sunburn from the rest of the ride. I've included a picture of my bike computer as proof.

I'd say the only downside of the trip was the inconsiderate jackasses who insisted on blaring their music in the wee hours of the night both Friday and Saturday. Why do these people always listen to the crappiest music? We heard a mind-numbing mix of horrid techno and the most cliched 80's rock ballads at ridiculous volumes. I'd much prefer to go to sleep to the sounds of nature.

Today on the way out of Austin, we stopped for brunch at Magnolia Cafe. It was my first time to eat there and it's now another place on my growing list of great restaurants to visit when in our state's capital city.

Ron Paul's "The Revolution" Is #1 on Amazon.com

2008-05-01T13:55:00.003-05:00

Ayn Rand and Her Philosophy of Objectivism

2008-05-01T10:11:00.007-05:00

Last night I went to a meeting of a philosophy group for a discussion of Ayn Rand. I've been a fan of hers since college but this is the first time I've participated in a group discussion of her philosophies. The conversation was engaging and bordered on heated at times but I had a wonderful time. For those who are unfamiliar with Rand and her philosophy of Objectivism, it can be boiled down into four simple points:

Metaphysics Objective Reality (Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed/wishing won't make it so)
Epistemology Reason (You can't eat your cake and have it, too)
Ethics Self-interest (Man is an end in himself)
Politics Capitalism (Give me liberty or give me death)

Perhaps the most contentious topic of our discussion last night involved the comparison of a philosophy of selfishness vs altruism. I read Rand's book 'The Virtue of Selfishness' last summer, which focuses on this very debate. I wrote a book report of sorts after reading it and posted it on MySpace. Since it goes well with the topic of this post, I've included it below:

June 16, 2007

While taking a few days of vacation last week, I read Ayn Rand's book, "The Virtue of Selfishness". From the title alone, many assume the book advocates being self absorbed to the extreme of disregard for the well-being of others. This is a result of the brainwashing we've received that the well-being of others should be placed above that of oneself.

The book actually contrasts the differences between a philosophy of selfishness (concern for one's own interests) vs. a philosophy of altruism (concern for the interests of other above one's own interests). These polar opposites can be directly applied to the two prevailing political philosophies of individualism (self sufficiency, personal responsibility) and collectivism (socialism, communism). Individualism requires that each person only acts in their own interest so long as they do not use force against others to achieve their goals. Collectivism requires that each person place the interests of others above their own, often by force of the state/government to achieve goals set by some "leader" who gets to decide whose interests should be served.

When considering which of these the United States Constitution was written to implement, it is clear that individualism is what the Founders saw as the basis for a free, productive society. Throughout the Constitution, we see numerous references to individual rights. In fact, the Bill of Rights was written specifically to protect the rights of individuals from infringement by the government.

In the book, Rand says that the United States lived up to this ideal form of government for about 150 years. From then on, we have seen a gradual shift from individualism to collectivism. With this shift, we have seen an increase in taxes, the moral decline of society, an ever-larger federal government (both in size and power), and the acceptance of the US as the "world police".

The Constitution sought to set up a government with the sole purpose of protecting individual rights (against the use of force by others), not as the provider of welfare through the redistribution of wealth. What are taxes if not a forced "donation" to the government to spend money we earn on those who did not earn it nor deserve the fruits of our labor? When considering the merits of any proposed government program, Ayn Rand offers two questions as a test: "At the expense of whom?" and "By what right?". If we asked these questions more often, the country would not be in its current state of decline.

MC Plus+, Nerdcore, and Chip-Hop

2008-04-29T09:23:00.005-05:00

While listening to one of my favorite triathlon podcasts, Zen and the Art of Triathlon, this morning I was introduced to a genre of rap previously unknown to me. It's called nerdcore or chip-hop and combines hip-hop with computer science themed lyrics. I love it! Its novelty will likely be lost on those of you who do not speak geek, but lyrics like "If you step to CS, you'll be EOF" (CS means Computer Science and EOF means End of File) and "I'll make your method return void" (a programming reference) had me rolling as I got ready for work. Brett from ZenTri played a song from MC Plus+ (who obviously named himself after the C++ programming language) and I laughed hysterically the entire time. My neighbors probably think I'm crazy, but oh well.

Speaking of programming, I'd better get started working before I throw an exception (sorry, more programming humor).

Inspiration

2008-04-27T22:28:00.008-05:00

I'm sitting on the couch watching American Beer and sipping a tasty Dogfish Head Red & White. The perfect cap to a wonderful weekend. As I think back over the weekend (I'll get to the specifics in a minute), the theme seems to be inspiration. How have I been inspired?

I spent most of the weekend within arm's reach of Sheila. That alone is inspiring. That woman makes me feel like I can do anything! We watched movies, went out to eat, and wandered around the International Festival downtown among other things.

We've been taking turns watching each other's favorite movies and this weekend it was my turn to pick a couple. On Friday night, we watched High Fidelity, which has to be one of my all-time favorites. It has one of the best soundtracks ever, tons of vinyl/mixtape love, and does a decent job of conveying how big a part of my life music is (I often see myself as a much less dramatic version of the protagonist - John Cusack's character - Rob Gordon). Every time I watch it, I'm inspired to continue my quest for musical nirvana.

For the first part of the day on Saturday, we lounged around and watched Into the Wild. If you have not seen this, YOU MUST! What could be more inspirational than cutting up your credit cards/drivers license/Social Security card, burning your money, and living in the wild? This movie speaks deeply to me and reminds me what is important in life. We should not define ourselves by our possessions and how others view us. We should define ourselves by what's in our hearts and not be afraid to pursue it at any cost. As with High Fidelity, I see a lot of myself in the main character. Chris McCandless was very much an introvert who did not see the world as most of society does. He read books that inspired him and solidified his views of what is important in life. Authors like Tolstoy, Thoreau, and Walt Whitman are quoted throughout. Ayn Rand (my favorite author) has had a similar effect on me. I have decided to read the others to see what else I might l learn from them. There will be more to follow on these in future blogs as I work my way through them, I'm sure. I'm planning to go camping and bike riding (flying down hills at over 45 mph is extremely inspiring, by the way) in Austin next weekend with some friends. While not anywhere near as dramatic and risky as a multi-month stint in the Alaskan wilderness, this promises to be a great chance to disconnect and experience a bit of nature.

I could go on and on about how much fun I had this weekend. I could read deep meaning into things I saw and conversations I had. But suffice it to say, I've been reevaluating what is important in life and what true happiness really is.

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." For years, I was an avid homebrewer, but it has been over a year since my last batch. As I finish my beer and head to bed, I am inspired to brew another beer very soon. Now the only questions are, what to brew and with whom to brew it?

Map of area codes where Ludacris' hos reside

2008-04-23T12:35:00.002-05:00

A coworker sent me a link to Strange Maps where I found an ultra-hilarious map of Area Codes In Which Ludacris Claims to Have Hos. I laughed so hard at this, I just had to share. While I'm not much of a mainstream hip-hop fan, I am familiar with his ubiquitous (sweet, I managed to use the word of the day in a sentence - I'll have to make it a point to start doing that in this blog) ode to telephone promiscuity.

I haven't decided if this will suffice as my post o' the day but other than work and a run @ Memorial after that, I don't have anything planned. We'll see if something else blog-worthy happens...

The Revolution: A Manifesto

2008-04-22T19:26:00.004-05:00

I was excited to finally get my copy of Dr. Ron Paul's new book, "The Revolution: A Manifesto" yesterday. The book dissects the pathetic excuse for political discourse in our country and points out that neither of the two political parties are offering solutions to the problems our nation is facing (policing the world, financing an ever-growing welfare state, and our increasing loss of liberties to name a few). Instead, the two sides are pitted against each other in a staged "us good, them bad" fight as our Constitution is ignored and gradually forgotten altogether. While the mainstream media has all but succeeded in burying Dr. Paul's message of freedom, peace, and prosperity, he has awakened an army of patriots who share his vision of restoring the government the Founders intended. I look forward to reading it!

Stepping off my political soapbox, my week is off to a great start. I serenaded Sheila last night with the song I wrote for her. To be vague, she really liked it! :)

Now, I'm off to figure out what I want for dinner tonight...

Lazy Sunday afternoon and a song for Sheila

2008-04-20T14:38:00.005-05:00

I had an action-packed day yesterday, so I'm having a very lazy Sunday afternoon.

We ended up doing 25 mile bike ride yesterday morning. Afterwards, my good buddy Dr. J did some much needed maintenance on my bike. It had been awhile since I had anything done to it so after laughing at my ignorance, he put on a new chain, rear cassette, and tires. It shifts like a dream now, so I'm looking forward to my next ride.

I went shooting at Hot Wells, which is an outdoor range near 290 and Barker-Cypress. It was my first time shooting there and it was one of the cheapest places I've found around town. I had a blast (literally!) putting 150 rounds through my Glock. Always a good time...

Some friends and I spent the afternoon listening to music and hanging out. After that, we went to my homebrew club's crawfish boil. It had been awhile since I went to a brew club meeting so it was good to see everyone. In addition to tasty mud bugs, they had a keg of Chimay White and a homebrewed scotch ale. Knowing these would do some damage, we rode our bikes the three miles from my friend's to the meeting. As always, the ride home was an adventure. One friend wiped out going back for a flip-flop he lost and I broke one of the pint glasses I was carrying in my water bottle holder when we got back. Despite losing the glass, it served its purpose well on the ride back to my friend's. That was the first time I've had the extreme pleasure of sipping beer while riding my bike. I must do that more often!

After the homebrew club meeting, I met some friends at RocBar downtown. It was my first time there (I'm noticing I say that a lot) and I liked the variety of music in each room. We hung out on the balcony/outside dance floor most of the night to enjoy the weather and the view of downtown.

So far today, I've slept in, cleaned up around the apartment, and played guitar. Since I can't seem to get Sheila off my mind, I flexed my meager lyrical muscles to start writing a song for her (insert groan here). I have chords to go with it, but I'm waiting for a fitting chorus to fall out of my head before I can finish it. I have no qualms about sharing unfinished work but I am curious to see what my dearest Sheila's response is to this so here goes nothing:

   I'm smitten
   I'm completely worthless
   When it comes to anything that doesn't have to do with you
   But I like it just fine

   I'm stupid
   I forget my name sometimes
   But in my defense the reason is that yours is always on my mind
   But I like it just fine

   I'm a chick flick
   The way I see us in my head
   My friends would laugh if they could hear the sappy things I've said
   But I like it just fine

   I'm lonely
   Whenever we're apart
   I used to function on my own but now you have my heart
   But I like it just fine

   I'm helpless
   Every time you smile at me
   You could have me doing anything just to see that you're happy
   But I like it just fine

I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the rest of my day. I may go for a run or lift weights or maybe go sit by the pool and read for a bit...

Up at 6:00 am on a Saturday...

2008-04-19T06:28:00.005-05:00

So I'm up at 6:00 am on a Saturday morning about to go meet some friends for a bike ride. We'll be doing at least 25 miles, but maybe 50 if we feel up for it. Crazy I know, but there's a certain excitement around getting up early, eating a carbolicious breakfast, drinking some coffee, and hitting the road for awhile. My only real complaint is how much gear is involved in a simple bike ride. For those of you who have read Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World" (if not, I highly recommend it), cycling is like one of those sports mentioned in the book that requires an arsenal of equipment to participate. A short list of things I've assembled for this morning's ride include: cycling jersey/shorts/shoes, heart rate monitor, helmet, gloves, sunglasses, spare bike tubes/CO2 cartridges, energy bars, energy gels, Gatorade, water, recovery drink. Insane, huh?

A friend and I are going to the outdoor shooting range for awhile after the ride. A bike ride AND shootin' before Noon. Should be a fun and productive morning!

In other news, today is Day 4 of Sheila withdrawal. She's been out of town most of the week. :( Hopefully my busy morning will help keep my mind off that fact at least for awhile. But she'll be back tomorrow. Yay!

Son Volt with Bobby Bare Jr. @ The Continental Club, Negativland @ Rice's Aurora Picture Show

2008-04-18T09:35:00.006-05:00

I caught a couple of great shows the past two days. Wednesday night, I went to see Son Volt at The Continental Club. For those who are not familiar with the band, Jay Farrar the lead singer/song writer, was previously in Uncle Tupelo (forefathers of the "No Depression"/alt-country genre) and one of my favorite bands - Wilco. There was a bit of a falling out between him and Jeff Tweedy during the recording of the epic "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" album and Son Volt was born. Son Volt put on a great show. Their lead guitar player was a virtuoso, playing flawlessly with perfect tone.

Bobby Bare Jr opened. I hadn't heard of him previously but really liked his songs. The bass player was hilarious. He had on a "Daniel-san" like headband and danced around like he was playing butt rock rather than sensitive alt-country. He cracked me up when he asked for "more mustache" in the monitors!

Last night, I had the pleasure of experiencing Negativland at Rice's Aurora Picture Show after a friend invited me to check it out. The show can best be described as a fictional radio show examining religion. The show was titled "It's All In Your Head" and posits that religion, like everything else, is man made. By design, it is intended to make listeners question their beliefs and compare/contrast them with other religions. To enhance the listening experience, the audience was given a colorful piñata blindfold and invited to wear it throughout the show. I took their suggestion and zoned out a bit as I soaked up the chaotic sound collage they created live on stage. One of the members of the group said no computers were used to produce the show, just an array of electronics equipment including samplers, turntables, and other "complicated devices". This was very different than anything I'd ever been to but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Before the show, we wandered around the Rice campus a bit until we found Valhalla, an on-campus bar run by grad students. The beer was ridiculously cheap. I drank St. Arnold Bock for $1.15 a glass. I'll always love the Gingerman, but I may have found another option when in that area. The campus was beautiful. I'd never been there, but walking around made me want to go back to school again. Maybe someday soon. The whole studying thing doesn't appeal to me at the moment.

I'm supposed to be working now, so I'd better wrap this up. I've included a picture I took in a friend of a friend's apartment building. I think it speaks for itself.

To Sheila

2008-04-15T22:08:00.000-05:00

One of my inspirations for starting this blog was the amazing girl I'm dating at the moment. I was honored to make it into her blog and even received a code name to protect my anonymity. Since I have grown to be completely smitten with her over the past couple weeks, it's only fitting to reciprocate.

First, the code name. I gave it some thought and decided to call her "Sheila" after the Smashing Pumpkins song. It's a beautiful song (lyrics here, song there) and does a pretty good job of explaining how she makes me feel.

I was convinced that I'd date girl after girl and eventually grow so tired of the routine that I'd become as cynical about meeting that special someone as everyone else I know. Since meeting Sheila, I've felt like I'm back in junior high the way I can't stop thinking about her. It's hard to focus sometimes. Her name is on a constant loop in my head with "wow" pulsed inbetween. When I'm with her, I could care less what we do. I could hold her close talking about anything and everything or just stare at her for hours on end.

Yeah, I know, some of you are about to be sick. All I can say is, you've got to find something like this for yourself.

All the cool kids are doing it

2008-04-15T21:32:00.000-05:00

Here goes my foray into proper blogging. I decided to do this for several reasons.

I used to enjoy writing until years of composing corporate email took their toll on my once sharp literary wit.
Sometimes I think I live in my head too much. I could probably benefit from attempting to organize my thoughts in a coherent manner on a regular basis.
It seems like a good way to let people know what's going on in my life without running the risk of repeating the same story to the same people over and over. Those of you who decide this is worth reading will be treated to much more efficient conversation (if efficient conversation is your thing).
"Blog" sounds so much cooler than "journal" or "diary".
All the cool kids are doing it.

Most people have funny and/or cool names for their blogs. So why Dammit Andy? When I was about three years old, someone asked me my name and I curtly replied, "Dammit Andy." This seems to incriminate my mom but at the same time sheds some light on how difficult I must have been as a child. My friends find it very convenient to call me this from time to time, so it's a nickname that remains with me to this day. (Yes, I cut & pasted the last few sentences verbatim from my MySpace page. Lazy or brilliant? I vote for brilliance.)

I guess this will do for a first entry. Send me comments, links to your blogs, whatever...