Books in 2011

Happy New Year to ya. These are the books I read though this year...off the top of my head...I may be missing something....lots of comics this year!


The Qur'an - I had about a third of this finished for years but could never  get motivated. This time, I started at the end and worked my way back. It worked!


The Rebel - Camus -Tough go of it, and honestly I skipped the whole section on Russia. Too many Russian names. :)

Persepolis - Satrapi (Graphic Novel) - Wonderful. Will have to read the sequel at some point.

The Four Encounters - Tezuka (Graphic Novel)

Marvel Essential Man Thing (Vol. 1) (Graphic Novel) - weird, odd, interesting...and totally under-rated. Enjoyed it. Look forward to Vol. 2 someday.

Planet Hulk (Graphic Novel) - Nicely done....Would recommend to any sci-fi fan.

Tons of 1980's era Marvel's (newly bought and otherwise)

Strength to Love - MLK (should finish this week)
Sermons from MLK. Powerful stuff. I love it.

In Search of Zarathursta (well done but a little stale towards the end)

Jesus and the Gospels - Bloomberg (sections)
Conservative scholar but well done and very fair minded. Will be digging into this as a resource often.


The Gospel of John - F.F. Bruce (commentary only sections I was teaching)
Taught at our church on John - loved this commentary would like to finish this at some point.

Synopsis of the Four Gospels (Aland Edition) - Started 2011 by reading through the gospels like this. Nice way to read them. Always wanted one of these and finally got it. Have referenced it many times.


An Ordinary Man - Paul Russesabagina -Paul was going to visit our campus but he was ill and had to cancel. Great but sad book.

Poverty and Morality (ed. Galston & Hoffenberg)
One of my faves. I actually lost this in the fall so I have two chapters left! :) I can't recommend it enough if you are a fan of world religions or interested in poverty.  Great overview of many of the dominant belief systems (written by a scholar in that particular field and often an adherent of that system) and their views on poverty (religious and secular world views). I have a feeling I might have this on one of my class reading list one day...love it.


The Essentials of Hinduism - Swami Bhaskarananda  - Hands down the best introduction to Hinduism I have read. Easy to understand and many great examples and illustrations I use in class.

The Toon Treasury (ed. Spiegelman) (should finish this week) - simply wonderful. If you love old cartoons - get this book!!!

Finally, I re-read Frankel's Man's Search for Meaning. One of the best books ever!!!

Wow...read through more than I thought. Here's to another great round of books in 2012!

Holidaze Fragments

Well, Christmas is here again.

Emusic has a cool little program where you test it free for a month (you get 12 bucks credit and most songs cost between 49-79 cents) - I did it back in the summer and got some nice tracks, they emailed me for another free month. Here's what I downloaded in my two free months:

The Apples in Stereo - Fun Noise Trickmaker
Superdrag (selected tracks)
Sloan (selected  tracks from Smear)
Beck - Moden Guilt
Elvis Costello - (selected from Armed Forces)
Ramones - (selected from Rocket to Russia)
Derby - Posters Fade

I hope I have earned some indie cred for some of those purchases and yes, I am going to cancel in a few days.

I love the holidays (mainly the part where I don't go to work) - but somehow there is always something to do. Ah, well.

Finally finished the Qur'an after umpteenth times trying to gut through it (was about a third of the way) - this time I started from the back and finished in a two weeks. I might have some thoughts on that in a blog post one day.


During a surprise weekend getaway last weekend (two nights free at a in-town resort) my wife noted there aren't many posts about her and little about the family in general I realized I keep even this blog at arm's length in some cases. So, I have a wife-centric post coming up soon (start your bated breath right....now).

I did discover an art project for the winter break, hip hip hooray! Results will be shared when it's done! and so far it doesn't suck.

Star Trek: The Next Generation Re-watch Update: Finishing season 6...one more season to go!!!! Wow.

Christmas came early: Alone III leaked...and..... it was a little, itty-bitty, tiny-bit disappointing as most songs are song fragments but there a few gems that I love already (Lisa and Let Me Wash At You Sink). The sections from unfinished Songs From the Black Hole were pretty sweet though. Listen and remember how good the 90's could be:






We hosted our annual Christmas party and I think a good time was had by all. It was the 15th annual party that started back in high school at my wife's parent's house. Now all our kids are all running around in the back of the house. Sometimes it's a little surreal. The party ends a little sooner than it used to but we had a blast. A few couples stayed until 11:00ish and our good friend JJ stayed past 1:00 so we were beat the next day. Good times though. So many memories with those old parties, but the new ones are harder to remember as they have offered less drama then the high school-college days of "who is dating who?" underlying drama.

X-mas fragments for those scoring at home:

Favorite Christmas music hands down is the soundtrack to the Charlie Brown Christmas. Vince Guaraldi was a genius.

Favorite all-time gift: (tie) Castle Greyskull and my first bike.

Favorite Christmas memory: driving around to look at lights with my parents and coming home to read a comic book under the Christmas tree lights.

Happy Holidays/Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/and Everything else!!!!!

How One Little Poem Can Change Everything

This is the story about how one little poem changed my whole outlook on life.

During study hall of my senior year I told my friend Chris that I occasionally wrote poetry and short stories. He didn't believe me, so he asked me to write a poem on command and this is what I came up with:

Without You
I am not a fish.
Do you see my gills?
Do you see my mouth shaped for a kiss?
I cannot breathe under or over,above or below.
I will die anyway, cold and alone.

He read it and said, "That's actually not too bad". I beamed with pride and after re-reading it, I liked it as I thought it was clever and romantic.  After school, I showed it around the choir room and my friends liked as well.  In the coming weeks, I brought in some of my other poems and short stories (most of which that I remember were quite deranged and demented and often featured violence) but for whatever reason, they too, met with success.

Late that spring our choir trip and final concert were cancelled due to the behavior of two students (the rest of us had to pay for their behavior, don't ya  know?) During classtime in choir we just watched movies as there was no concert to prepare for. During a showing of "Oklahoma" I wrote an eulogy poem for the senior class, lamenting the loss of the last senior trip and last concert.  It was tongue-in-cheek, over-the-top and as I remember it, quite silly. I wish I still had it... but on second thought, some things are probably best remembered rather than preserved.

Some guys passed the poem around the room and...it was a hit. The next thing I knew some of the guys wanted to print t-shirts of the poem and wear it as a protest. I didn't mind. The truth was I didn't think they could pull off the organization of printing the shirts or paying for them up-front.  To my surprise, in about a week the t-shirts had arrived. My initials along with the other two main organizers were on the back of the t-shirt. At least 20-30 students wore the t-shirt to school on one coordinated day (while I was surprised that it was actually happening, I still wore the t-shirt).

It was the first time I had really "stirred the pot". I got a few questions in my other classes about the shirt, asking me what it was all about, and if I had written the poem, etc. I felt a little embarrassed by the whole situation but I felt a little cool too. I can count the number of times on one hand when I felt cool in high school - this was one of them.

That morning I got called in to the choir director's office. I was nervous.  I tried to explain the situation as best I could.  I admitted that it was my poem but that the t-shirt idea spiraled out of my control. I told her some BS about how it wasn't about her as much as it was about us expressing our sadness that the concert and trip had been cancelled. Although, honestly, it was all about her and her over-reaction to bad behavior by 2-3 students. Regardless, it worked and I wasn't in trouble. Looking back, she had to know she was in the wrong anyway so I am sure that worked in my favor.

All this is to say that little "poem on command" laid the groundwork for years of writing poetry and writing in general. For better or worse, I thought of myself as a poet.  Broadly speaking it helped build a sense of "self".

After spending the first three years of high school as an aimless misfit, I had spent my senior year getting comfortable in my own skin. I had stirred the pot for the first time with success and (of course) it would not be the last....

Weezer Concert Review

This past summer I attended the Weezer Memories concert (The Pinkerton Night) in Austin at Stubb's.

I originally had most of this written up months ago but then I got bored and it got put on the back burner (I'm running out of room on that back burner).

I arrived in Austin about an hour before the doors opened and was shocked at the line out the door. The line stretched down the block with at least 200-300 fans ahead of me. It was weird because sometimes I feel like the only Weezer fan here in San Antonio.

Yes, it's that lonely. Lonely and shameful. I mean every time I tell someone I am a weezer fan I have to start with all these qualifiers about how their recent stuff sucks and how their 90's catalog is amazing.  

Waiting outside was not pleasant as it was hot, humid and the sun hitting me straight in the face for awhile. Once inside the shade of the amphitheater I could relax and have a beer (which due to heat was guzzled down quickly). I survived the opening band (some rap band which wasn't all that bad as I feared) and to my surprise, Weezer quickly appeared.

The band was in great form and even minor imperfections couldn't ruin a great performance. I dare say this might have been the band's best set-list ever. (HUZZAH!) From start to finish the band was having fun and in high spirits. This was my fifth time seeing Weezer (previously in 1996, 2000, 2001, and 2002) and it was most they have seemed to be "together" as I have ever seen them (well, okay, except for '96). More than any other Weezer show (or other shows I've seen recently) the band was having fun. Smiles were shared and there were some special moments between the fans and the band.

The night began with the "greatest hits" portion of the set but it quickly morphed into a hard-core Weezer fan's dream set including a song they don't often play live (The Greatest Man That Ever Lived), three b-sides from the 90's (You Gave Your Love To Me Softly, Suzanne, and Jamie) and a never-before played song (maybe the online community's most beloved of Rivers' demos), Longtime Sunshine. I couldn't believe I heard three b-sides from the 90's and Longtime Sunshine. Excuse the inner girlie fandom, but UNfreakingbelievable.

I was flipping out - albeit in a very reserved, muted fashion. I was about fifteen- twenty feet from the stage with a perfect vantage point to enjoy the show. The "tall guys" that seem to haunt me at most concerts were no where to be found. While it was a great viewing area, I was probably in the second-tier of weezer fandom. Most people around me knew Pinkerton, and many even knew Suzanne (which went down surprisingly like a big hit with the crowd) but I was on my own in my immediate vicinity with excitement for Jamie or Longtime Sunshine. It was like knowing big news but not being able to tell anyone...I was thinking, "Don't you people know how special this is?". I almost yelled "Thank you Rivers!" during a quiet moment but my self-consciousness got the best of me. I definitely should have anyway.

This was during "The Greatest Man..." I think. At one point he was singing to the people out on street on the other side of this wall. It was kinda cool. I know, I don't have a pithy comment for this. It feels awkward.

Being currently alienated from the only other person I know who would be equally excited and jealous I was there....I found myself in a weird position. I knew no one that I knew would care what was happening (I even pathetically scrolled through my contacts list to make sure I wasn't forgetting someone). I texted my wife out of the sheer need to contact a fellow human being. Of course she replied but she didn't care about Weezer's set anymore than any of my other friends. (Thanks anyway, Honey!)

The "hits" set (for lack of a better term) had the band performing as a five-piece with Pat (the drummer) doubling on guitar and Brian (usually guitar) going between the guitar and the keyboard. Brian actually looked alive and was having fun....at most of the shows I have attended or seen, he's just chilling. One show (2002) he barely looked alive. This was the whole reason I set up on the right side of the stage away from the Sassmaster.

I was obviously a lot closer but this is just a general shot of Stubb's and this seemed like a good place for a photo.

Pat and Scott were on my side of the stage. Pat was rocking out and having a blast, I am glad he gets to play some gee-tar now and then. Scott (Bass) was devastating with the "happy to be here" look in his eye as usual. Rivers climbed around like a moron as he is wont to do with these mainstream sets. Oddly it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. I have to admit, it was kinda cool to see him climb into the crowd around me, at one point less than ten feet away.

I compare the banter between songs at concerts much like the conversation I want from my food servers: not enough leaves me feeling like I'm not even there - too much and I find it annoying and/or awkward. Rivers did great this time around, with enough mix-up's with the set and a cheesy "time travel" theme ("we're taking it back to 1995...") to keep the mood light. There seemed to be some hesitation with Longtime Sunshine - like the band was thinking, I hope this goes over well - and to many a surprise, many cheered when the song was introduced.

The experience was a little bittersweet, as I had no one to enjoy the concert with nor could I indulge myself with more than two beers as I had a long trip home later that night (I counted 13 police cars on the way to and from Austin)! Nevertheless, the concert was amazing.

Here's the set with some comments.

 Memories - Off their latest album, Hurley. Not a fan of this song, and it's the only "meh" song out of the entire concert. Honestly though, it's a great opener for this tour and there are tons of other Weezer songs that are much more cringe-worthy than this one.

 The Greatest Man That Ever Lived - Off of the Red Album - technically, this is a difficult song to pull off live and well.... it showed. It's really a studio song - but I'm happy to have heard it as it's not played often. Giving the challenges it sounded good. The band was up for it and Rivers got up on the roof-top to sang out the 8th street audience on the other side of the wall at one point. Surprisingly, lots of cheers for this song as well.

 Perfect Situation - love, love, love the intro solo. Even if I think the original "woahs" are better from the studio version -- like a lot in the Weezer catalog, this song seems so much better live.

 Dope Nose - Scott on lead vocals. This is just a fun song. Scott does a great job with a vocally easy song.

 Hash Pipe - rocking out. Love me the drums on this one.

 You Gave Your Love To Me Softly - the first of the B-sides played. The band has always loved this song (it's the most-oft played non-album song to be sure) and it's a catchy little ditty.

 Suzanne - Wonderful song and a total surprise. The fans went crazy as it seemed everyone knew this (I take it from the Mallrats movie and soundtrack). One of my favorites of the night - Rivers has gone back to his original lyrics as well, using the "Kurt Cobain" line now (at the release it was changed as it was still in the wake of Kurt's suicide).

 Longtime Sunshine - This was the surprise and highlight of the night. Jaw droppingly good and I can now say I have seen the live premiere of LTS, "Don't Let Go", "Always" and "Island in the Sun". That's kinda cool.

 Jamie - Following LTS, I was ready for "Buddy Holly" or "Undone" - but they went straight into a song that needs no "introduction" (really?) - Jamie. It' my least favorite blue b-side but damn if it almost didn't change my mind by the end of this performance - it sounded so much heavier and together than the recording we do have (although that recording has its qualities as well).

 Only In Dreams - this is the most over-rated in the weezer online community and I still love it. It was great hearing it again for the first time since 96. Great performance and epic crescendo.

Intermission / Slide Show

 Tired Of Sex

 Getchoo

 No Other One

 Why Bother?

 Across The Sea - Sounded great. This is probably my favorite song of all-time, so I was a bit on cloud 9 - singing along. Being "in the moment" doesn't always make for a great recollection.

 The Good Life - the band really nailed this one - for whatever reason, it stuck out as a great performance.

 El Scorcho

 Pink Triangle

 Falling For You - Amazing solo and Rivers seemed to have a blast. He actually jumped into the audience on this one - which he usually doesn't do in the second half of the Memories shows.

 Butterfly

I stared at this pic forever trying to find myself and realized it was for the Blue Album night. :( 
 I would have been about ten feet (??) in front of the at tree on the left.

Creepy Moments To Remember

Last year I had a student stay after class. He was the "metal band" t-shirt guy - long hair, probably smoked too much weed in high school and quiet, very, very quiet.

He waited until everyone was gone and approached me.

"What do you think about demons?; I like demons."

I tried to answer it as suavely as I could, but it wasn't easy.

Top Ten Things I Didn't Do

Things happen, but sometimes they don't. Off the top of my head and definitely not in any order of importance, here are things that didn't work out or that I never did.



1) Printed out a small book of poems to give to my parents and sister for Christmas back in 2005 but didn't give it to them on second thought.


2) I didn't ask out a girl in my Intermediate Spanish II class in college. I had a huge crush on this girl. We sat on opposite sides of the room and before I even spoke to her I had already created her personality - she was my dream girl.  I mustered the courage and managed to talk to her a few times in the hallway before class, I think I made her laugh and felt really good about our small chit-chat. I plotted to ask her out after the final exam. This was the perfect plan - if she rejected me, I would never see her again in class thus lessening my humiliation. I laughed at my genius. When I took the final exam, I worked as fast as I could.  I even managed to check my work but I was ready to dump the exam if the situation arose.  After what seemed like forever, she finished her exam. I didn't want to make it obvious, so I patiently waited about 15-20 seconds after she got up. As fate would have it, the allotted time for the test was running out, so many students were up at the front of the room, turning their exam in as well. Because of the extra traffic, it took me longer than expected to turn the test in....but I wasn't panicking even though she was out the door sooner than I realized. My heart rate started racing as I picked up my backpack and headed out into the hallway. As I walk out the door I see a fellow classmate is already TALKING TO HER- he's not leaving her side as they continue to talk and walk right into the PARKING LOT - I slow my walking gait down but at this point I am in a near panic. My perfect plan was falling apart, I had no backup plan!! They just keep talking and I....well... keep walking....I felt like an idiot. I saw her a few months later at Blockbuster with some fat boyfriend, I had a near Woody Allen breakdown at that point.


3) I did not transfer to UT (instead I transferred to A&M). I was planning on majoring in advertising there. As crazy as that sounds to me now, I think I would have taken one class and changed my major. Life would have been different, that's for sure.


4) I did not teach in Japan. I almost applied to teach for JET after graduating in 2000, but got scared (although we did end up teaching in China in 2004).


5) I did not make the band. I tried out for a band in college as the lead singer. I tried to sing some Metallica song and it went badly. I think I knew I wasn't going to get the gig when I asked if they knew any Weezer songs.


6) I did not get everything that I wanted as a kid. I have vivid memories of begging my mom for a quarter or seventy-five cents for a comic book or a pack of baseball cards. Most of the time, she wouldn't budge. At the time, I thought it was because (in my kid's world) seventy-five cents was a lot of dough - I understood it. Now that I know even at the time, it was nothing. My mom did a good job of not spoiling me.

When my mom would go our local Handy-Andy I would go inside the Revco next door as they had a great comic rack and a better toy selection. When I was ten-years old I saw this comic and I just had to have it. I begged and pleaded with my mom to no avail. It was a hard sell - it was double-sized and $2.50!  I did what I often did at Revco and hid it behind some magazines. I was able to hide this comic at least 3-4 times at least for a month - always being careful to remember which magazines I hid it behind. One day, to my dismay it was gone......(Well then, I just found it on Amazon and I am totally buying this for my Christmas present with my parent's money).

7) I wish I could tell you I never bought cowboy boots, but I would be lying.


8) I did not get a ticket for crazy driving as a teenager. It was harmless stuff by most standards, but one road rage incident was really, really, scary looking back on it (and yes, I was the one mad). I sometimes can't even recognize that young version of myself.


9) I never made the "Honor Roll". Not a once.

10) I never applied to teach anywhere else than where I work now. I applied part time and did not apply anywhere else, as I was a lazy. I got a call a week before classes, I was in. I interviewed for a full-time position twice (with one interview with the college president) before finally landing my full-time tenure track position the third time around.

Pic Dump # 2

Been saving the best from my web surfing and bringing it all home to you...a little "meme" heavy but...enjoy.