These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

Oh, I know this is lame.

So what?

These are a few of my favorite things off the top of my head.


1. Driving with the windows down on a summer night listening to  rock n' roll
2. Finding a fry at the bottom of the bag
3. Pizza
4. Air-Drumming along with a song
5. Reading old comics cozily in bed before I go to sleep
6. Remembering a dream from the night before that I had forgotten about until that moment
7. Cold mornings with hot coffee
8. Laughing at my own jokes that no one else will
9. Drawing a little doodle or comic at work that I deem good enough to file away in a special folder for good doodles/comics
10. Washing dishes late at night listening to music
11. Comfy t-shirts and jeans (that's kinda my look)
12. Walking outside with mindfulness of my ability to walk and be alive
13. Looking at the stars in wonder and awe
14. Finding a good shade spot on a hot day in a crowded parking lot
15. Making my class laugh or really finding another way to impact the room
16. A good conversation with a good friend (more rare than you might think)
17. Writing a good poem/blog/something and feeling good about it
18. Ad libbing without planning while acting and sharing a moment with the other actor
19. Painting when I get a chance
20. Carl Barks comics, always and forever
21. Discovering a new album/band/music on YouTube
22. Trying new restaurants with my wife
23. Trying a new beer
24. A beautiful spring day, not too cool, not too warm
25. Going to the bookstore, aimlessly browsing and hoping to find something surprising
26. Drawing mustaches on photos/advertisements/whatever and waiting for my wife to discover it
27. Doing something random, hoping someone will notice later and wonder "why?"
28. Reading to my kids, telling stories to my kids
29. Talking nonsense with kids, just being silly with them any chance I can get
30. Taking each of the kids on "dates", alone time is so great
31. Free Comic Book Day with kids, one of my favorite holidays of the year
32. Rewarding myself with breakfast tacos before I do something I really don't want to do

Must be a jerk, I didn't think of my kids until #28...but my excuse is, I was thinking of "things".

Six Underrated Albums From the Late 1990's

I was going to write an intro about how awesome the 90's were but then I realized all I want to do is write about some underrated late 90's albums. I don't need write a pointless introduction on a blog post maybe no one will ever read!

So, in no particular order, here's six underrated (or unknown) late 90's albums. There are more out there...so maybe one day a sequel is in order (you know the drill, don't hold your breath).


The Pulsars - S/T - 1997




Have you ever wondered what would happen if someone dropped an near perfect pop album in a time when the style just didn't fit the times?  This album fits the bill.

Because The Pulsars didn't sound like anything at the time, it was probably doomed to fail.  And fail it did, as hardly anyone knew this album existed at the time of its release but it's something of a cult hit among indie rock/alt rock fans today (or cool people like me, I have no idea how to label this music anymore).

The song writing is timeless but the sound is time bound (and that's a good thing), you'll know what I mean when you listen to it.  The Pulsars album is all about the future - electric beeps and bops, countdowns and songs that usually feature synths and keyboards. Most songs are focused on the future as well; technology, pet robots, silicon teens, and of course, love. The lyrics are are charming and fun with a dash of paranoia and melancholia. The album reminds me of a darker and weirder  Fountains of Wayne and just like a Fountains of Wayne album, you'll be singing along with the songs before they finish. When I first heard this album about 5 years ago I couldn't believe I hadn't discovered it by now.

Now, it's your turn. You're welcome.

Standout tracks for the lazy: Tunnel Song, Suffocation, My Pet Robot, Submission Song 



Sloan - One Chord To Another (1996) 




If there's any band that did the Beatles better than the Beatles, it's Sloan on One Chord To Another. I am not writing that lightly....it's that good.

It might be the most self-aware rock album that I know of (from the faux-live concert track to various song titles and themes including "G Turns to D" and "A Side Wins") this is the equivalent of breaking the fourth wall during a movie. It can be off-putting if not done well, but it works here.

Just because it's self-aware doesn't mean it doesn't have heart. It's got that in spades.  It's a perfect album for the college years or for times of figuring things out. I am a little biased because this album was there for me during college.  I discovered the album as a DJ at my college station and I loved it so much, I stole it. Yeah, I stole it and I am not that sorry about it (okay, so I do actually feel a little bad about it).  I just couldn't imagine my life without it and this is before I felt safe buying anything on the internet yet and this album wasn't at any store I had seen.

Many songs are about figuring out who you are, figuring out who other people who you love are and about experiencing the forlorn nature of love and life. This is easily the album on this list I am most personally connected to. Most songs on this album draw me back to particular people, times or feelings. One of my favorite albums of all time.

If you're bored of Beatles albums you've heard a million times and want to hear a band at their peak, check it out. 

Standout tracks for the lazy: The Good In Everyone, Autobiography, Everything You've Done Wrong, The Lines You Amend


of Montreal - Cherry Peel (1997)




I am embarrassed to say I only discovered this album for the first time last year. I can say I would have pretty much worshiped this album in the 90's if I had only know it existed. Even all these years later (and me being an old man) it's rocketed into maybe, just maybe into my top ten albums of all time.

Cherry Peel is a lo-fi rock masterpiece that's all about unrequited love....if you're in love with someone and they don't know it, you need to pick this up ASAP.   It's weird, catchy, acoustic-indie pop with clever, sometimes bizarre lyrics and songs. It will charm you and make you feel young again.

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: Tracks 2-6: Baby, I Can't Stop Your Memory, When You're Loved Like You Are, Don't Ask Me To Explain, In Dreams I Dance With You

 Superdrag - Head Trip in Every Key (1998) 

No full album link is available, but this is the first track and it's outstanding. 

John Davis might be a genius and I think Head Trip in Every Key might be his peak achievement. Maybe I just love this album and I'm not sure I can be objective about it. It's not a perfect album by any means, but it more than makes up for its middling middle-act. This album feels like a realization of what "alternative rock" could achieve; "Mr. Underground" is a welcome re-hashing of classic rock riffs while "Shuck & Jive" blends punk with a Beach Boys' bridge. "Shuck & Jive" uses a similar (the same?)  riff to Nirvana's "Stain" and crafts a much better song than Cobain did with that riff.

With it's pulsating, driving songs, you'll be pounding on a desk or whatever else is nearby playing the drums along with songs like "Hellbent"  and "Sold You An Alibi". This album is about a relationship falling apart that hasn't yet met it's end. How do you end something you don't know how to end?  If you like your rock a little more straight ahead, check it out.

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: I'm Expanding My Mind, Hellbent. Pine Away (a personal favorite that is objectively not as strong as the other tracks listed here), Shuck & Jive


The Apples in Stereo - Tone Soul Evolution (1997)



My second Elephant Six Collective offering on this list (the other is of Montreal). This album was my introduction to the AIS in 1997. I was taken aback and didn't quite know what to make of them at first but I loved "You Said That Last Night" and played it on our radio show, The Paba Free Show.  Tone Soul Evolution is a perfect balance between AIS' early work (Fun Trick Noisemaker) and later, somewhat over-the-top pop work (which I still like). If you're unfamiliar with the AIS, it's like if the Beach Boys were blended with indie rock from the 90's.

It's a perfect album for summer night drives or listening by the pool side. It's light,fun and you'll be bobbing your head. Beautiful back-up vocals, melodies and guitar work are abound. A rare album that just makes you feel good for being alive just to hear it.

If you want to listen to something fun with beautiful melodies....give it a spin.

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: Heard About Your Fame, Silver Chain, Tin Pan Alley, You Said That Last Night

Spoon - A Series of Sneaks (1997)

 There is no full-album link of Youtube, but you'll find the playlist if you search for it. Instead, here's the best song (which is technically on the deluxe version). 

Not Spoon's first album, but their first minor splash in the big music world. If you love modern Spoon, let me warn you, this is baby Spoon, taking it's first steps. It's more straight-ahead, punk and rock than the later, angular, more mature Spoon. A Series of Sneaks is one banger after another (four songs are under 3:05 and two are under one minute). That said, many songs show the promise of Britt Daniels finding himself as an artist and songwriter. I am partial to the punk-infused "Execution" (with a whistling bridge, no less) and later my personal favorite on the standard album, the lo-fi, chill, gem-of-a-song, "Metal Detektor".

Honestly, this album is a little all over the place. Yes, there are some good songs but there's some clunkers as well. Your mileage may vary...but if you're a Spoon fan or a 90's music fan, it's worth a listen. As with any Spoon album, much of the songs brilliance come from the lyrics. There's an obvious mystery and vagueness to each song that makes the album fun for the listener to find their own connections and meanings with. Not to say there's not some obvious references to the music industry...which brings me to the real reason you should listen to this album (on the deluxe album) the beautiful and amazing bonus tracks, "Laffitte Don't Fail Me Now" and "The Agony of Laffitee". Both songs were recorded in response to the failure of the label to support the band...and both are acoustic-based, beautiful pop creations ("Agony" is a masterpiece) if you listen to these songs, you'll know what kind of music I love.

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: Execution, Metal Detektor, Car Radio, Advance Cassette, Laffitte Don't Fail Me Know, The Agony of Laffitee

The idea that maybe, just maybe, by the tiniest of chances, someone might discover one of these albums because of me makes me happy. What can I say? This freaking blog has "hopeful" in it's title! Happy listening folks!

Poem Post: The Wall

It's been awhile since I've posted a poetry post, so, this one's for you, you wacky poetry fans!

(Wait! come back, it's a short one, I promise!....hello?..... anyone there?)


.......(ahem).......


the wall
I can't seem to find a torch to carry  
or a willing ear 
but my silent wall is waiting like always
It's still here
waiting when no one else does
carrying its burden like an old friend would.


This was written in 2004 (but of course, modified just a tad right now).  This was written in the era when I was running out of things to write about. I am unsure if I meant "the wall" to be literal (as in I was talking to myself) or the "blank wall" of the computer, waiting to receive my thoughts on the screen.  

From 1995-2002,  I had used poetry as a form of self reflective therapy. Poetry was a safe place for me to communicate my thoughts and feelings without having to actually share them with anyone.  I know that sounds so dysfunctional, but it worked at the time.  Often, I would listen to music and riff off a lyric or theme and just let my writing wander here, there and everywhere.  Sometimes I would even uncover deep dark feelings I would have had  trouble articulating even to myself without the use of poetry.  At one point, I was writing almost every night and it was a lot of fun, to boot.

However, once the emotional turbulence over relationships and career were over, I found myself struggling to find my voice as a poet. I was happy with life and found little to write about. I was also busier, I was working more hours and needed to tend to my new marriage. I tried writing about politics but it felt wrong (well, there's one I am quite fond of, that I will share one day).  So, this poem reflects how I saw writing itself - as my sounding board to my life that was trusty but fading away with adulthood. 

Confucius Didn't Say That!

Confucius was a pretty wise dude. Just look up "Confucius Quotes" on Google. Go on, I DARE YA. 

You probably didn't, so let me go ahead and tell you that most of the quotes attributed to Confucius on the internet are fake.  Most egregiously, there are several "quotation pages" (did you see what I did there?)  are made up of 95% false quotes.




My first meme creation. I am a proud papa.

So, starting with this very post, it's time to shine some good old fashioned TRUTH on the situation. I am not a Sinologist or a Chinese expert, but I ain't no dummy either. It's time to, "strive to put right what once went wrong".  

Yeah, Quantum Leap is awesome, isn't it? 

First off,  let's address why would someone misattribute quotes to Confucius in the first place.

Americans (and the West in general) don't really know Confucius quotes because they don't know much about Confucius.

This happens with Buddha frequently as well and some lovely person has a website for it. If there were memes with Jesus' quotations with the same claptrap - it would be easily dismissed. Not only are many Americans familiar with many of the memorable Jesus quotations but many would know if a quote "sounded" like Jesus. Furthermore, many people would know where to find and verify if the purported message really was from Jesus. With Confucius, most people would have no idea where to verify the quote. So, they just give up because, ya know, Wikipedia takes too long.

We view ancient China through the lens of Orientalism.

China and "the East" has always been viewed as the exotic "other". Traditionally, China was never seen as a religious or military threat to the West, so, unlike the Middle East, it was viewed much more favorably. In particular, Chinese men were feminized and portrayed as subservient in popular art, while men of the Middle East were portrayed as bestial, violent and threatening.  Likewise, Confucius was never a competitor to Christianity like Mohammed was in Europe. Christian missionaries found much to like in Confucius' ethical code. It was the Jesuit priests that translated the Analects to Europe for the first time.

All this is to say, I believe the West views Confucius favorably. He serves as a convenient, exotic "other" that could possibly say some crap like "The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence."

Yeah, that quote is actually attributed to Confucius.

Finally, let's face it Americans are kinda dumb. 

Ok, enough with that nonsense, let's start this series (that will likely end with this one post) with a doozey.

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. "  - Confucius


If Confucius didn't say it, where's it from?

Oh good, the internet did that for me.... here's the story.

Well, if Confucius didn't say it, could he have said something like it? 

No. Nope. No chance in Hades.

No one in the ancient world "chose" their job. What I mean by "no one" is 98.3% of people were farmers working the land for food. Most of those farmers were poor and/or peasants that didn't even own the land they worked.  I should note I made up the 98.3% percent for dramatic effect, but it was the definitely over 90%.

Even the few skilled workers and the even fewer elites in Confucius' time didn't "choose" their jobs. Of course the discussion so far wouldn't apply to females at all, as their "job" was also proscribed for them. Males would inherit their father's trade or position - it didn't matter if he "loved" it or found fulfillment in it.  If your happened to be in the minuscule middle or upper class, your were probably smart enough to realize how crappy life was for vast majority of people.

Beyond the fact that people didn't choose their jobs, the quote implies a sense of individualism that would be absent in ancient China.  Communities were viewed as made up of households rather than of individual people (this is paraphrase from Peter Nosco that I don't have handy). Society was interlinked and seen as a living organism, with each part of the community working in harmony with one another.  Think of the Confucian "Five Great Relationships":

1. Father - Eldest Son
2. Eldest Son- Younger Brother
3. Husband - Wife
4. Elders - Juniors
5. Rulers - Subjects

Your identity only made sense in relation to others and had nothing to do with your "work".  Western identity that is built on one's career has been a relatively new 20th century invention. Even in the West, traditionally, one's identity was built along gender, race, family and religion - not one's work or career. 

Finally, the idea that one would seek happiness through personal fulfillment would be alien to an ancient Chinese person. Personal happiness is not a goal or value found in Confucius' work. For Confucius, happiness is an outcome related to one's attitudes and actions but not a goal into of itself.

From 7:16:

The Master said: “I can live with coarse rice to eat, water for drink and my arm as a pillow and still be happy. Wealth and honors that one possesses in the midst of injustice are like floating clouds.”

From 13:16

Confucius said, “If you do it right, then those close to you will be happy, and those who are far away will come to you.”

What would Confucius say to replace this quote?

Well, I am happy to make something up on-demand:

"The Superior Man finds his happiness not in his own personal fulfillment but the fulfillment of his duties to others."

Ok, so it's not from Confucius but doesn't it just inspire you? 

No, it's bullshit.

Look, my job is awesome but it's still work. Every job has aspects that suck and that's okay.

Let's put it to the test and explore some of the typical "downsides" to particular jobs:

Teaching = Grading
Medical Field = Dead people (and Ebola)
NFL = Brain injuries
Computer People = Sitting on your butt ALL DAY
Chef = Critics
Strippers = Cheap Prevs

See, I just proved it.

If you are employed, some aspect(s) of your job will suck. You aren't going to "love" every day. This quote is an empty saying that tries to make you feel bad for not picking a different career. Screw you, I like my job and I am not under any impression that it's supposed to be joyous and amazing every day.