How 2020 Didn't Suck (a personal and incomplete list)

2020 has been a terrible and tragic year. My condolences to anyone reading this that has lost a loved one due to COVID. My wife's grandmother was a victim this past summer. 

That said, 2020 could have been worse. One of my constant strivings is to have more gratitude in my life. So here are the ways 2020 didn't suck for me (somewhat in chronological order). 

We moved into our new home the first week of January. Hard to believe it's been almost one year. We had a ton of help from wonderful people. So glad we were here during the pandemic. We needed the room when all the kids were here for school. 

We went to an amazing Ben Folds concert in February. He played a great set, basically, what I thought a Ben Fold concert would be...he was funny and we had a blast.  It was a bit of an indulgence but he is one of the last performers I want to see before I die (still have Sloan to get to one of these days). 

We were able to take a family trip to New Orleans right before (or as) the pandemic was starting. In retrospect, if we knew then what we know now, we would have never gone. However, the world was different and it all felt so far away. Our trip included a visit to the Whitney Plantation. I whole-heartily recommended it to all Americans.  It is the only plantation in the US that focuses exclusively on the lives of slaves, it is ugly and sad but also beautiful. Check it out if you ever find ourself in NO, it's just a little ways out of town.  We also got to eat really good food and had fun exploring the city including getting caught in a rain storm one evening.  We had a lot of fun taking the trolley from our hotel to the city park and had a lovely time there (including riding a two-person bike that carried our whole family).  We were soooo lucky we were able to have a family trip before the pandemic. It was a family trip that we'll remember forever. 

It feels like a different world doesn't it? 

The pandemic hit and the first few weeks, we made the most of it. We had our own art show in the house, had a Chip Dinner, with pretzels, chips, nachos, etc. (this will become an annual event at our home) and had a fun game night with prizes. 

I also let my oldest daughter shave my legs for five bucks. Yeah, I charged her for that.  

We were outside a lot more. The natural world was my wife's refuge and she and my son bonded over fishing in a park about 40 minutes away. They went there nearly once every two weeks at some point. Closer to home, we explored our nearest park and discovered a back trail with a ton of wild blackberries (dubbing the path "Blackberry Way").  

I admit I do not know the name of this variety but they were delicious. We made several trips over late March-early April. Stuff just tastes better when you are finding it yourself! 

I watched some good television. My favorites included The Plot Against America and The Watchmen (which was outstanding). I started The Good Place and it's fine but I kinda got bored sometime in Season 2.  I'll finish it up soon (maybe). The Mandorlarion season 2 was just okay, too much fan service at the end though. 

Another photo from a Mother's Day outing. 

This photo comes from a nature walk June. This was a serene, lonely walk I was able to take as I snuck away from the fam for a few minutes. I could hear the echoes of people far away as I sat down to enjoy the view of the water. It was wonderful. 

I was able to write about Carl freaking Barks for a graduate course and I will be presenting that paper on a panel this summer at a conference (crossing fingers we can still go). I might post about this when it happens. 

I was also able to write about Confucius for my second class, which was great. It felt good to dive into something I know well and I learned a ton as well. I wrote about the relationship between Yan Hui and Confucius for those scoring at home. 

Overall, my wife planned many outings and I have to say she was definitely one of the better things of 2020. 

We went to the beach in June and later in July to celebrate my wife's birthday. Both times, I must admit, I had a great time. Usually, I am not a huge fan of the beach but these trips were special. We splurged a bit on the second trip at a stay at a very nice Airbnb (although we spilt the cost with my inlaws). 

At sunrise, me and the boy (age 8).

I did a lot more of the cooking the last 10 months, in part because I wanted to and in part, because my wife has more voice lessons in the late afternoon/early evening. I think the best thing I made was Chicken Parmesan. I did some other stuff that was good but just not as outstanding as this dish...shoulda taken some pics! 

Oh yeah, Trump lost. Think of it, the guy has lost the popular vote in two elections by a combined total of over 10 million votes. What a big, diarrhea-faced baby. I don't usually wish bad things to happen to people, its kinda of a personal value of mine, but I'm not rooting for this guy's health. Trump is a dangerous cancer to our society and I'm hoping the patient undergoes chemo and radiation soon. 

I played a bunch of retro games since the pandemic and I added some Genesis classics to my SNES classic. I finally beat  Rocket Knight Adventures. I had that game as a kid and it beat the crap out of me back then. Why were games so hard back then???  Of course, I beat it with save states, do you think I am insane and I have the time to dedicate my life to the game? 

I broke down and got the little Game&Watch: SMB this fall.  What can I say? I own the portable Oregon Trail and a mini-key chain Galaga. It's right up my alley. It was too expensive for what it is, but I had a blast with it and my kids and I are still fighting through SMB 2.  

I think the family has gotten closer in many ways (sometimes too close) but it's been a blessing to spend more time with the kids. I have a freshman in HS for goodness sake, she won't be here forever. I am a little sad she didn't get the full experience (she's in marching band which just wasn't the same) but also, it's cool to eat lunch with her or check in on her day randomly at 2:30. 

I have been starting to feel hope for next year and started planning (at least in my head and a few peeks on Google Maps) to the Grand Canyon, Colorado, etc. We'll see. 

It's been a tough year and I didn't list all the sad stuff or challenges we have faced. I hope you can also find gratitude for the good in your life this year, stranger. In the meantime, call your Mom this week and don't forget to do that thing you keep putting off. 

Catching up on Falling Behind Fragments

 It's almost December and I felt obligated to write a little ol' blog (I do it for the fans, of course).

A nice cold front finally hit us and it finally feels like the fall. The holiday season can be tough on my wife, and that's a toughie because I enjoy the holiday season.   I like the novelty of it all, it just feels different than the rest of the year. I think I have blogged something like that every year. 

I am in the middle of my last grad class for a good while, I am burnt out but I finished up a project at work and my last few weeks of this class will be when I am done with my teaching load, so that will be great! It's like burning the candle at both ends. I'm excited about the various projects I have in mind for the winter and spring. I will have free time again! 

Dreams do come true. Rivers Cuomo released his vault of demos. Thousands of demos were released a few weeks back. I am still processing this insanity. Sure, the vast majority are notes, scraps, chords, etc. but there are hundreds of songs and multiple versions of some songs. A treasure trove. I will have thoughts on this but I am still taking it all in. I will say the man has quite a work ethic, pushing up the stone up the hill, indeed. Some have seen this as the end of hard-core fandom, as we all love to speculate about demos....and yet, there's plenty left to wonder about and look forward to including....all the co-write demos (that were not shared), especially the early Pat co-writes,  band demos and rehearsals, a deluxe Green Album (unlikely but not any more unlikely than Rivers releasing his demos), any band archival released (special editions, concerts, etc.) and of course, new demos from the last five years and in the future. If you could have told me this would happen in 1998, I would have screamed like a little girl. 

Oh yeah, the last time I wrote the US presidential election hung in the balance. As expected, Trump will wreck or democracy and institutions like a big baby on his way out the door. He is like a baby, in that he can only think of his own benefit and only in ht short term. Even his own judges can see through this nonsense. Utter incompetence and stupidity that is defended by most of the GOP. Now we have over 70% of the GOP that believes corruption helped Biden win (with no evidence)! Surely he has laid a template for a more skilled fascist in a few years. It is terrifying we elected this cruel, narcissistic fool and it is even more terrifying that we have a cult of personality surrounding this walking trashcan. 

I started writing a blog series that ranks the Spurs five championships and.....of course, I fell down the rabbit hole of information, stats, videos, etc. It was hard to boil down an entire season into two paragraphs. I have a whole mathematical formula that helped me understand why I ordered the championships the way I did. I just couldn't stop writing, so it turns out each championship will get its own blog post. I must admit, this raises the possibility of me never finishing the series....but I just couldn't do each year justice with only a paragraph. # 5 on the list is 2007 and I am about halfway done with that. My goal is to have that one done by 2021 and the series done by May of 2021. #optimistic 

Is there really light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines being developed? It feels like normalcy is on the horizon and yet, with the holidays there are dark days ahead. What a time to be alive, make sure you stay that way and stay safe folks! 

Take a deep breath, hold on to your dreams and put a few extra masks in your car so you don't forget to take one with you on your travels! 

K-Mart Radio Network Mix CD

A few years ago, I discovered a tracklist of a mixtape I had made back in the '90s. It inspired me to wax nostalgic on the value of mix-tapes but it also inspired me to go back and find more tracklists in scattered notebooks or on the tapes or CDs themselves (here and another CD here).

This summer I realized I had forgotten about an important mix CD I had made in the late '90s My K-Mart Radio Network Mix CD!

This image just screams 90's to me. You have to admire the effort here, go on, admire it with me. By the way, although a second volume was planned I never got around to it.

This CD demands a little more explanation. My first job was at the neighborhood K-Mart because my friend Philip worked there.  I worked there from December 1994 through January 1995. I had to briefly quit as I was planning on being in the school musical and wanted to enjoy the last of my senior year. One of the mangers was nice enough to hire me back in June 1995, I kept the job until June 1997.  It was a long two years. 

The pay and management were horrible but my friends made it worthwhile (as Philip got most of our friend's there a job at some point).  At any given point while working there, there was a good chance I had a friend clocked in when I was there. Soon enough, I got to know more people and it was its own little community. Although we had much to complain about at the time, it really was a perfect "first job". I have many great memories of those days.  I can still smell the place in my head. I'm surprised I have never written "K-Mart Fragments" but it's due to happen one of these days....

I started as a checker and ended up working at almost every department, at least a few times. I spent some time at Service Desk (which was stressful and overall awful) but mainly I spent my time in Lay-A-Way. That was the sweetest gig at K-Mart because it was in the back of the store, surrounded by hardware and auto accessories. Basically, you could hide back there. We might get busy on Saturdays or for an hour or so, but otherwise, there was plenty of time to relax. I could grab a video game magazine and read it in the back or study for an exam and no one would be the wiser. 

No matter where you worked though you could not escape the "K-Mart Radio Network" that played while the store was open (I always found the store to be eerily quiet once we closed). 

In between store promos and announcements, the "network" played classic '60s tunes including rock and Mo-Town. There was also a heavy dash of '70s R-n-B and pop-folk with good dose of '70s and '80's adult contemporary songs.

In the beginning, my friends and I complained about the "lame" music....but after being forced to hear these songs over and over AND over again, our attitude began to change.  I don't want to dramatize this but the K-Mart Radio network forced me to re-evaluate my snotty 19-year-old attitude towards music that wasn't '90's alt-rock. It got me to admit that maybe I didn't know it all, it challenged me to have more of an open mind to music than I did before. 

This was in the infancy of the internet, it wasn't that easy to figure out the artists or song titles. Googling song lyrics didn't even occur to us because Google didn't exist yet. Over the next two years, my old buddy Philip and I would track down the songs and purchase entire CD's often to get to just one song. 

Honestly, I think Philip picked up the vast majority of them, he would usually surprise me by playing a new CD in his car when we were out cruising around town. Once we had compiled numerous CD's it was just a matter of time before this puppy came along. 

Here was my mix CD of the K-Mart Radio Network, Vol. I. 

1. Doobie Brothers - "Without Love"
2. BJ Thomas - "Hooked on a Feeling"

3. The Buckinghams - "Kind of a Drag"

4. Paul McCartney - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

 5. The Spinners - "I'll be around"
6. Eric Clapton - "Layla"
7. The Chi-Lites - "Have You Seen Her?"
8. Madonna - "Borderline"
9. Beatles -"Lonely People"
10. Peaches & Herb - "Reunited" 
11. Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline"
12. Chicago - "Saturday in the Park"
13. Stylistics - "Betcha By Golly Wow" 

14. Chi-Lites - "I'm gonna make you love me"
15. Simon & Garfunkel - "El Condor Pasa" 
16. Roy Orbison - "Pretty Woman"
17. Prince - "Raspberry Beret"
18. Peter Frampton - "Baby I Love Your Way"
19. Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"

I would be happy to make a playlist for you but I know the odds of someone listening to it is between slim and none. So, get YT or Spotify and look up some of these oldies. They won't let ya down. 

It's true you can never really go back home again.  The old K-Mart shut down in the '00s and I've lost contact with most everyone that was at the store. I found one of our friends back in the early days of FB but I don't think he posts much and besides, I deactivated my account awhile back too. 

To be honest,  I haven't really talked with Phil in over four years (Phil, are you there, man? I miss ya).  I'll never see that K-Mart community together again and that makes me a bit sad. I know annoying Chris passed away in a car accident in the early '00s and I am sure some of those older folks have passed away too (old Marvin in gardening and the ancient German lady who smoked like a chimney, Heidi). I would pay good money to go back to re-live a few hours working at K-Mart. Time is like that, your brain can take you back in a flash. Geez, I'm getting old.  

At least I still have the music to help me reminisce and remember...and now you do too. 

Stuff O' Fragments

 It's October, so let's celebrate by writing a blog. 

Or ya know, have a beer, whatever floats your boat.

Life Update/Fragments

I went camping with my son this past weekend for Cub Scouts, it went great. Although the worst part of camping continues to be sleeping (or rather staying asleep), just an awful night of sleep. I used to think the Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts was a fascist organization meant to brainwash our children. In my honest opinion, it kinda is. But our pack is laid back, and honestly, as one friend put it, it would be fascist to refuse my son to join. He just adores outdoor stuff, knives, camping, playing outside, etc. Also, I am my son's father. I can nip some of the worst brainwashing elements out and embrace the fun stuff. 

I got some good news. I will be presenting a paper at a national conference in June after all.  Barring the pandemic getting even worse, both the wife and I will be going and making a vacation out if. Yay. One day I might have an official site for some of my projects (which will not be connected to this blog in any way, shape, or form). Until then, I am a man of mystery, readers. 

Privacy Aside

Okay, look, I know it is extremely unlikely for anyone to connect the dots back to my real identity (in fact, if one was so inclined an observant reader could figure out who I am if they really wanted to or were bored out of their mind)...but I would rather not push my luck to include rando's in real-life tracking me down or former students reading some of my private thoughts.

Okay, look, I am aware that it's a little weird that I don't mind if random people on the internet know some of my deepest private beliefs but don't want people that actually know me to find out about the blog? That feels like a major contradiction. It's not like I am hiding some deep dark secret in plain sight, but I must admit I would feel like if someone's reading this, I have to be okay with them essentially reading my thoughts. That's not something I am willing just to let go of easily. 

Basketball Fragments 

It was weird rooting for the Lakers, but I did. I actually did. I like and respect Lebron, especially his stance on social issues. Obviously, his game is incredible and speaks for itself.  I also really like Danny Green & Caruso (I am an Aggie after all). I liked their whole rag-tag bench of has-beens and loveable losers. 

Okay, look, except Dwight Howard. He's still annoying and unlikeable. 

Looking forward to the draft for the Spurs. The first lottery in 20 odd years for the Spurs....this draft is supposed to be weak but ya never know. It will at least be interesting. The Spurs have an interesting array of young talent but really no superstar potential. White may be a fringe all-star at best. The jury is out for Keldon Johnson, but as stacked as the West is, I think the Spurs will be in the lottery for the next three years (bare minimum). 

Election Anxiety Fragments

I am not as anxious as I was a month ago as I am holding out hope Biden can blow Trump on election night, so badly, he just has to concede the next day. That is the best outcome for our nation. Otherwise, riots, looting, people dying, and the the further erosion of democracy and social norms. It really is that dramatic. If the GOP sows the fascist field and keeps embracing the alternative facts of Trump world, we will be in a scary state of affairs. 

So, ya know, I'm holding out hope for a Biden blowout. 

Okay, look, I am not saying it's in the bag because we've never had an election during a pandemic, there could be delays with the early mail vote, and of course, Trump himself will claim it's rigged against him, so who knows what will happen? But I'll be waiting with bated breath and hoping with prayer all goes well. 

Okay, look, that's the end of the blog. I hope you noticed a pattern. 

Go enjoy a nice cup of coffee, sit on the back porch, and think about all you're grateful for. 

I'll be back to post my election recap (probably but maybe not). 

Fragmenting into Fall

I'm back with more fragments of my life. 

Today I started another eight-week graduate course. Hooray (except not really). 

It turns out I am going to attempt to present some of my research from this summer at a conference in June 2021. If it gets rejected, I won't be following up on it on the blog. I'm crossing my fingers because it's at a cool location and if my presentation is approved  (and the pandemic isn't still raging like crazy and the whole thing gets canceled)....I will take the wife and make a whole trip out of it! I don't think the school will have the cash to pony up for travel, but I will apply for it. 

My own classes started a few weeks ago. So far, they are great students.... but with Zoom I just can't remember who is in what class, what face goes with what name, etc. until their little faces populate the screen. Even then, some don't have their camera on and I really don't know anything about them. Oh well, it's the new normal. 

I started a soft re-watch of Star Trek: Voyager. It's underrated... What I mean by "soft re-watch" is that if I am not feeling the episode or I hated it before, I just skip it.  I did a soft re-watch on DS9 two years ago but never quite finished my soft re-watch of TNG. So far, it's a great comfort to watch mindlessly at night (and my wife makes fun of me all the time and I don't mind). I just started season four and I have probably only skipped 4-5 episodes a season anyway. STV has some clunkers, but honestly, that's just ST. There are always some bad episodes! 

I was partially inspired by Renegade Cut's excellent video below: 

Almost all of Renegade Cut's stuff is great, especially his political videos and film analysis Give the channel a try. 

COOKING NEWS (yes, COOKING NEWS)

This past summer I started to cook a little more for the fam. Well, I always could follow directions and do the necessities.  Although I took particular pride in my grilled cheese sandwiches (secret ingredient to make your life complete: put a thin layer of bean dip in there and you will thank the Lord your read this blog after your first gooey bite). 

Some Highlights included: 

I think I perfected my mashed potatoes (admittedly, it's easy, just add a ton of butter). 

I make pretty decent home-made biscuits now.

I also pan-grilled some decent cheeseburger sliders in the house.

I also really messed up a cookie recipe and the cookies crumbled like crazy (in part because I was trying to wing a bit of it). 

All that to led to last night's masterpiece. I followed Adam Ragusea's recipe on Chicken Parm (just go to YT and look his channel up, soooo good!)  and my family loved it. I felt like a pro and I admit it was a  very satisfying feeling that I don't get at work or anywhere else.  I got some ideas for my next recipe, should be fun. 

End of COOKING NEWS, yes COOKING NEWS......

School at the house with three kids, while my wife juggles two part-time jobs and I have a full-time job is, well, not fun. Especially tough dealing with our 3rd grader, and look, I can't blame the kiddo all that much either...they need less Zoom time and more flexibility. Again, can't complain too much as we're all struggling in this brave new world (that sucks). 

I read a lot of news and now I will be reading for grad school, but I have started a re-read of The Silmarillion last week, cuz I guess I like slow, dense storytelling? I dunno, it feels right and safe late at night to forget the troubles of the world. 

That's all I got for ya. 

In the meantime, be sure your butt is registered to vote this fall, don't let it worry you too much, and don't forget to do a load of laundry tonight (you won't regret that you have clean underwear in the morning). 

4 More Underrated 90's Albums

Last summer I wrote a post about six underrated albums from the 90's and I'm back with four more underrated 90's gems.  I suppose this is a series now, so look for another few of these underrated 90's album blog posts in the future. 

The point is, I love 90's music and so should you. 

Sloan - Twice Removed (1994)

Sloan made my list of underrated albums last summer with its masterpiece, One Chord To Another. While Twice Removed is less well-known than OCTA, it should be considered an indie classic. If you enjoy 90's rock n' roll with beautiful melodies that will stay stuck in your head for the rest of your life, then I recommend this album.  There's a neat degree of diversity on this album, from fun rockers, "Penpals", "I Hate My Generation" and "Deeper than your Beauty", to mid-tempo rockers, "People of the Sky" and "Worried Now"; along with forlorn love songs that still take me back to my own heartaches and longings ("Bells On" and "Loosens"). For many years, this album was my therapy. The song I proposed to my wife is no other than "I Can Feel It". This album is so underrated, even I underrate it when I haven't listened to it in a while. From back to front, it's a great album. I love it, please give this album a shot. 

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: "I Can Feel It", "I Hate My Generation", "Loosens", "Bells On" 

Frank Black & The Catholics - S/T (1998)

 

There's something wonderfully weird when Frank Black isn't writing with the Pixies. It doesn't always mean success either, for every gem on Teenager of the Year, there are two more clunkers (although I do love "Speedy Marie" more than I can put into words). In my next "Underrated 90's Albums" blog series, I may get into The Cult of Ray, which is also good...but this self-titled album of Frank Black and the Catholics is just the bee's knees. It's rollicking and rolling and you will be sure to have your head bopping to every track. It's an all-time great cathartic sing-along album in the car on a warm summer night.

Famously, the band had sent a demo tape to a producer and the producer said, "you're already done...there's no need to record this in the studio"...and boom, just like that the album came into existence. There's is definitely a live feel for this album, it's a little messy but it makes for an endearing experience. It's one rocker after another (with "Dog Gone" being the exception) often the lyrics blend mythical creatures, biblical imagery and a mishmash of world geography and history. For all the uptempo rockers here, there's an underlying sadness and quiet anger in the songs. 

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: "All My Ghosts", "Do You Feel Bad About It", "Dog Gone" "I Gotta Move"

For Squirrels - Example (1995)

 

 

If you're not familiar with the story of For Squirrels, it's a sad tale of tragedy and unfulfilled promise.  Two of the four band members died in an accident while on tour for their first major-label debut album. I just can't divorce my mind from this tragedy when I listen to this album. Ironically, their single "Mighty K.C." exemplifies the album. The song was about the death of Kurt Cobain. It's got this classic 90's alt-rock verse (that are frankly nothing to write home about), builds to an okay pre-chorus and then....it hits you will this sugary pop chorus that is amazing. Given what happened to the band, I think it's best you listen to the chorus for yourself, but it might very well bring tears to your eyes.  The album has a classic (one might say "typical") 90's alternative rock album sound and I don't mean that in a bad way. Some songs haven't aged as well ("Superstar" and "Stark Pretty") but many songs have only gotten better with age, especially the more REM-influenced tracks like "Smithville" and "Orangeworker". It's a solid all-around album. This album won't crack your top 30 albums of all-time but it's a solid album. If you like 90's rock with a dash of REM, go for it. 

Standout Tracks for the Lazy: "Smithville", "Mighty K.C.", "8:02 AM", "Orangeworker"

Fig Dish - That's What Love Songs Often Do (1995)

   

 Just search for the full YT playlist, this is only "Lemonader".

 If you're looking for that classic, loud-soft-loud 90's power-pop sound, then I've got an album for you. I was first introduced to this album from my radio show in college. We regularly played "Seeds" and "Chew Toy" off the album but in the years that followed, I admit I forgot this band existed. Sometime in the mid-aughts I was reflecting on the old show and I remembered this album and purchased it online. It's a bit like if Jawbreaker and Fountains of Wayne had a baby - it's heavy, catchy and an all-around great rock album that delivers sardonic delivery and romantic lyrics. The Chicago-based band only released two albums but I found the other album didn't capture my attention quite like this one. If you're a fan of "power pop" in the truest sense of the term, check it out. 

Standout Tracks: "Weak and Mean", "Seeds", "Chew Toy" "Quiet Storm King", "Lemonader" 

I'll be back in a few months with EVEN MORE underrated albums from the 90's. Until then, stay safe, stay cool and next time you're at the store get yourself an ice cream treat.

Thought of the Day

 You're better than a masterpiece, because you are capable of change.  An art object is forever frozen in a  static existence. You're capable to growth, change and transformation so make the most of it.