Chillin' & Vibin' Fragments

It's been a while, amigos. Here are the latest and greatest fragments. 

I am back on campus after a year and a half of being away. Weird feelings but I am glad to be back. Most students are masking up and the positivity rate is on the downward trend where I am at. Good to see people. I am still doing a Zoom class, and I am doing two more in the spring. I think they will be a fixture from here on out. 

I started writing my fantasy/YA novel again, I had to stop as I am working on an important project at work that involved writing but I was really going at it for about six weeks. Tons of progress and I feel good about starting up again. It's a solid idea, the question is the execution and my talent (which, I wouldn't bet on). I am hopeless it will ever be published but I am ready to fight the good fight to try to finish it and see how I feel about it once I am done. 

The weather is finally changing and I am so happy about it. Even if the afternoons are a little warm (sometimes not even hot), the mornings and evenings have been so nice. At the football game last week, it was downright perfect. 

I think I said I was going to post some pics from our vakay but I dunno, man, too much effort. 

I made a list, but this time it was a playlist

Long-time readers (um, just kidding)...I love lists so when my daughter got Spotify it was only a matter of time, when I would craft the mother-of-all 90's playlists. 

So far it's well over 1,200 songs. I like it, so maybe you will too. My taste would be described as indie/college/alternative rock. With some mainstream rock and pop hits thrown in with some weird stuff because you just can't do a 90's list without "Waterfalls" from TLC,  nor the Kids in the Hall theme song nor a cover of the Moon theme from the DuckTales NES game. 

Ya just can't I tell ya. 

It was fun to build, I would add songs that pop in my head, album by album or by searching through the recommended list and unearthing treasures that I would have played on our Paba Free radio show on our college radio station had I known they existed. 

It was quite a nostalgic trip, I recommend it for any and all old people to do for the particular era they grew up in.  I would spend just an hour scrolling through the 90's. It was lovely. 

I don't think I am completely done with the list...it will likely top out over 1,300 when it's all said and done. Although my guess is, new discoveries await....

 I was blown away by including The Grays (their entire output), Velocity Girl (a bunch of songs) and "Drown" by Sonvolt. 

 

Really surprised how much I love the first Counting Crows album and how many good songs the Gin Blossoms had. 

Yeah, I really am getting lame in my old age. 

FAM Fragments 

C is playing every week in the marching band. It feels like she's burning the candle from both ends but the season can't last forever. She took to the Tuba because they needed Tuba players (she's usually a flute player)...what a leader. She's bringing over the boy she's been talking to this Friday to dinner. Oh boy, yeah, it's happening. I hope he's nervous. 

E is going to ballet what feels like every night but it's only three nights a week. She's growing up more and more each day and it kinda makes me sad. 7th grade is the time you really see them change. She's still a unique person but I am interested to see her in a few more years when she cares less about what people think (having a weird dad will help). 

H is doing great in the 4th grade and we just went camping a few weeks ago with the scouts. The other day he told me he had to write about three people he admired and he picked MLK, Abraham Lincoln and me. 

Wow. just wow. I was honored and it made my day. 

K (the wife) is keeping busy as usual but she was able to go out for a ladies' weekend and I was happy we didn't burn the house down and she had a great time.  

I have enjoyed cooking again, trying my hand at some grilling...trying out some delicious Penang Pork Satay (success) and the even better Ping Gai chicken. I tried out a Toad in a Hole and that also turned out pretty great too (at least the wife was impressed with my bread). I can't recommend Food Wishes channel on YT enough. Chef John, you make me so happy. 

I just have to say I love life. It's not always hearts and flowers, E and H fight or I worry about the van breaking down but I have so much to be thankful for and it feels great to just be here for the ride. Whomever you are and wherever you find yourself, I hope you're doing okay and hanging there too. 

Until next time folks, don't forget to take the trash out and take that extra umbrella with you in the car, just in case. 

Thought of the Day

 I was in a Zoom meeting and had to come up with something pithy and this is what I came up with:

"relationship is the foundation for action".

I quite liked it and I hope it could be of some use to you, some random person on the internet. Maybe if it gives you something to think about, I will be happy. 

Otherwise, it's just a thing and that's still not half bad.

Cheers.  

Pic Dump: Summer 2021 Edition

What do you do when you think you should post on your blog but don't feel like writing? 

Well, I'm going back to an old tried, and true Hopeful Fragment classic; the Pic Dump. Most of these came from my good buddy Eric. Some I found all on my lonesome and two are photos I took.  As always, enjoy....or....don't. 

I saw this sticker a few months ago in Houston. I'm sure this guy feels really angry a lot of the time.  

This was likely based on a real-life situation. 

Crazily enough I actually sent this to a good friend when he was at his aunt's funeral. I had no idea he was there and had forgotten his aunt had died a few weeks before. Whoops...later he told me it brought a smile to his face, so it wasn't all bad. 

Irony is a lost art form. 

Sub in "Your Dad" for me

The photo does not do this justice but this wasp got stuck in our back door by ONE LEG. I have no idea what the odds are that possibility.... but pretty amazing. When my son discovered him, he was already dead. 

The whole idea of an "alpha male" is toxic, but I liked the nonsensical aspect of rebellion. 

That's it for now, I'll be back sometime soon with a photo reflection of our summer trip. In the meantime, take a late-night trip to the market and treat yourself to the frozen treat of your choice. 

Breakfast Taco Fragments

Holy smokes, it's almost my birthday and I haven't posted in a while. I live in South-Central Texas and it's a shame that it's isn't known as the Taco Mecca of the world...because it is. 

There are many reasons to despise living in Texas. The heat, the stupid and pointless Texas "pride", the politics, etc., etc. but one of the wonderful things about living in this neck of the woods of Texas is the ubiquitous nature of tacos; and the star of the taco show, to me, must be breakfast tacos. (that's a lot of commas in a sentence....I might have broken a record).  I think in the past 20 years or so, the rest of the nation is starting to catch on to the fact that beakfast tacos really are one of the best things on earth.

If I am trying a new place, I gotta try a bean and cheese, it's how I judge a taco place. It's how I roll. It's also my favorite taco. 

Here are my favorite breakfast tacos: 

1. Bean & Cheese (this is a little like saying the Beatles are your favorite band so shut your filthy mouth). 

2. Bacon & Egg 

3. Potato, Egg & Cheese

4. Papas Ranchera

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My wife is a pico girl but I can be a little all over the place, I am very flexible when it comes to salsa. If a roasted salsa is available, I'll usually go for that but a fresh red salsa is fine too and a hot green salsa can never do me wrong either.  I have been absolutely obsessed with Cholula sauce of late....but I'll use anything in a pinch and it's a cardinal sin to judge someone's salsa or hot sauce preference in my estimation. It's very personal. 

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The pandemic made me miss a ton of things from work, but one of the small pleasures of work was coming into the office kitchen and catching free donuts or tacos that someone had been nice enough to bring in.  You knew your day was off to the right start, especially if I had been in too big of a rush to eat anything before leaving for work. Ahhh...the old days....

Here are TWO taco stories (two for one).  

It was the late 90's and it was late at night. I was at a place called Chacho's. It has always been overrated but the late 90's was their heyday. Somewhere, my wife has a photo of me with a tortilla on my face (with holes cut out for my eyes) at Chacho's (this was before we were dating, so it's pretty incredible she ever wanted to date me after this happened). Anyway, this was a different time from that, and  I was hanging with my buddies. I don't remember who was all there but it was likely the usual suspects. We might have been drinking or coming from a bar. Chacho's had a jukebox and one of us got an idea. An awful, evil idea. (hat tip to the Grinch). 

This was also the heyday of the "Macarena". It was everywhere. I mean freaking everywhere. It was at the point where it was almost a joke when it came on and most people were "over" the song. Well, our idea was to purchase the song at least 10 times and just leave the restaurant, leaving the other patrons to suffer. I honestly don't remember how many times we bought the song but it was a lot. Some could say it was cruel, it still makes me laugh, imagining how people reacted. 

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This story was sometime post-2000....I believe it was my friend Phillip, Toby and Jeff. We all went out to a dancing club. I remember making eyes at a  girl but we didn't dance, I was too chicken to ask.  It was one of those fancy clubs, where I always feel out of place and they made you have your shirt tucked in.  Anyway, Phil said we JUST HAD TO TRY this incredible hole-in-the-wall restaurant for tacos afterward. 

You see, here in South Texas, if you're out late at night dancing and/or drinking, the proper way to close out the evening is with tacos (many of which will be breakfast tacos). It's not required but it's pretty much standard procedure, an expectation to be sure. So, we get to this tiny little place called Los Brazos. It must have been at least 1:00 or 1:30 AM when we arrived. The restaurant was indeed tiny, it had room for maybe, five or six tables. Easily, the smallest restaurant I have ever been to. I was impressed but then again, I was also probably drunk. Anyway, we were all perusing the menu when something terrifying occurred. I looked down to find that a cockroach had crawled from my leg into my lap. I panicked. I immediately jumped up and I used the menu to hit the roach off my lap while yelling, "Oh, Shit!" The roach scurried off in the direction of the kitchen. We should have definitely left the restaurant as we hadn't ordered but we were kinda drunk so we all laughed and ordered our tacos anyway. 

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Anyway, I am set to get some tacos for my birthday in the morning. It will hit just right. So, go on, go get some breakfast tacos or at least go make some and text an old friend you haven't talked to in a long time, you probably won't regret it. 

Weezer - Best/Worst/Favorite/Overrated/Underrated - Album by Album

I started this last blog series this past year and well, why not give it go with my favorite band to love and hate, Weezer. On this post, I added the "Guilty Pleasure" category for albums and songs that I particularly find myself perplexed that I actually enjoy. It does not apply to every album. 

As always, here are my overly-detailed definitions of terms:

Best - this is obvious, what I think is the best track on the album in terms of composition and what it sets out to do.

Worst - also obvious, although, this definitely has more bias in it than "Best", it should be noted that this song may or may not even be "bad". 

Overrated/Underrated - This is completely subjective but I am basing this category off of "hard-core" Weezer fans. It may or may not align with the broader public's opinions. Also, the Underrated category acts as another way for me to shoehorn one of my favorites into the list.  Finally, if I place a song in the overrated category, it doesn't mean it's a bad song, it just means it's overrated. No more, no less.

Favorite - My personal favorite, not always the best track. It's the song I most connected with or have a special memory associated with. Again, also another way for me to shove a song I really like onto the list. 

So with that out of the way, here we go:

Blue Album

This was by far the easiest album to do this activity on. 

Best: Say it Ain't So

Worst: Surfwax America

Overrated: Only in Dreams

Underrated: The World Has Turned And Left Me Here/Holiday

Favorite: The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

Pinkerton

Best: Across the Sea

Worst: Why Bother?

Overrated: Falling for You

Underrated: Butterfly

Favorite: Across the Sea

Green Album

Best: Island in the Sun/O Girlfriend (this is not cheating, it's my blog and my rules, stop judging me)

Worst: Crab (I kinda even like this dumb song)

Overrated: Smile

Underrated: Glorious Days 

Favorite: Simple Pages 

Maladroit 

Best: Slave    

Worst: Possibilities (one of Rivers Cuomo's laziest songs recorded for an album). 

Overrated: Burndt Jamb 

Underrated: Keep Fishin' (radio edit only)

Favorite: Slave

Make Believe 

Best: The Other Way

Worst: My Best Friend (If I could list this twice, I would).

Overrated: Haunt You Everyday 

Underrated: This is Such a Pity/Hold Me 

Favorite: The Other Way 

Red Album 

Best: The Angel and the One 

Worst: Cold Dark World 

Overrated: Pork and Beans 

Underrated: Dreamin'

Favorite: The Angel and the One/Ms. Sweeney (Ms. Sweeny is on the "Deluxe Edition, sue me)

Raditude 

Best: I Don't Wanna Let You Go 

Worst: Love is the Answer

Overrated: None 

Underrated: (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To

Favorite: Prettiest Girl In the Whole Wide World (Deluxe Edition, again) 

Guilty Pleasure: I'm Your Daddy (I know, gross, right?)

Death to False Metal 

The studio leftover album that becomes even more insane now that we have 95% of Rivers' demos...how were these songs selected? A random draw from a hat?! 

Best: Blowin' My Stack 

Worst: Losing My Mind 

Overrated: None 

Underrated: Autopliot 

Favorite: Blowin' My Stack

Hurley

Best: Run Away 

Worst: Where's My Sex? 

Overrated: Unspoken

Underrated: Run Away

Guilty Pleasure: Smart Girls (there, I said it and no, I'm not proud of it either).

Favorite: Ruling Me 

Everything Will Be Alright in the End 

Best: Foolish Father 

Worst: Back to the Shack

Overrated: Ain't Got Nobody 

Underrated: I've Had It Up To Here / Eulogy for a Rock Band 

Favorite:  Foolish Father 

White Album

Best: Wind in Our Sails 

Worst: Thank God For Girls 

Overrated: Thank God For Girls 

Underrated: (Girl We Got A) Good Thing

Favorite: Summer Elaine and Drunk Dori/Jacked Up

Pacific Daydream 

Best: Feels Like Summer 

Worst: Get Right 

Overrated: Sweet Mary 

Underrated: Feels Like Summer 

Favorite: Weekend Woman 

Guilty Pleasure: Mexican Fender (I am legitimately embarrassed that I like this song)

Black Album 

I refuse. I hope this album burns in hell. 

Teal

I also refuse this one too....it sucks. It's cynical, lifeless, and isn't worth thinking about. 

OK Human

Best: Aloo Gobi and Dead Roses

Worst: All My Favorite Songs 

Overrated: Numbers

Underrated:  La Brea Tar Pits 

Favorite: Playing My Piano/Mirror Image (I can't disconnect these two).

Van Weezer

Best: Shelia Can Do It (the Homie version is still a hundred times better). 

Worst: Hero 

Overrated: 1 More Hit 

Underrated: None thus far 

Favorite: I Need Some of That (it's dumb, I get it, but what can I say? I like it). 

Art Post: All Suffering Soon To End! (Collage)

 I haven't shared some of my older work in a long time and most of what I have shared was cartoon stuff. 

I became obsessed with creating collages back in 2010-2013 era. I would hunt for old books and materials at garage sales or antique shops some older stuff I destroyed, most I made color copies and used the copies. 

This is a piece stitched together primary with a US Navy handbook of some kind and a Jehovah's Witness track brochure. Some other stuff was also used to fill in the spaces. I liked the contrast of the end of all suffering and preparing for war. 

Enjoy! 

Stumbling Back Home Again Fragments

Well, what can I say, I've been away from the blog for a while. 

Pandemic life peaked and we had an unexpected snowstorm that shut down pretty much the whole state. We got vaccinated (as well as our two oldest children) and of course, things are starting to get back to normal (albeit at a slow and steady rate). 

In the meantime, I toyed with the idea of starting a Spurs podcast (focused on re-watching old playoff series/old games a la my blog of the 2007 championship, in particular, my deep dive into the 2007 Suns series). I did a ton of research into Spurs, podcasting, etc. recorded half an episode and just felt like it was boring and no one in their right mind would listen to it. I abandoned the project, although it honestly might come back as a blog at some point. I dunno. I have a hundred different ideas for future projects, so I just can't say. 

I honestly struggled this last semester, it felt like every day was a Groundhog Day and like most people, I felt stuck and circling down in a swirl, with the drain nowhere in view. 

A few bright spots along the last few months:

• The fam. Despite the fighting amongst the younger two, I take much pleasure at being a "Dad" or "the husband" definitely a way to escape your own brain for a while and focus on caretaking.
• As stated a few months back, I have really taken to cooking. My favorite dishes include New Orleans (BBQ) shrimp, Chicken Paprikash (Hungarian) and Karachi Chicken (Pakistani). There are more but those are my faves off the top of my head.  
• I planned out a big trip out West this July. We are headed to Colorado, Utah and Arizona. I'm looking forward to a ton of it....so many highlights. I'll have a blog series/post on that (probably). 
• I finally presented my research at an academic conference this week.....and it went really well. I wish we had been able to be in person but it was still a great experience overall. I may look into publishing my research but time will tell. 

I had the last two weeks off and I don't really think I have taken advantage of it in a big way. I thought about painting but just ended up doodling, I thought about a "real" blog post, and ended up writing this, this past two weeks have been restful but also in-between and indecisive. It has been nice to not have a grading or other stuff hanging over my head. This past week I spent gearing up for my summer classes (starting next week) and for the conference presentation, so it wasn't wasted. 

I may do some blogging this summer, I have an art post to get to of a painting I did a few years ago but never got around to sharing (I also lost it during our move last year). And I will at least get back to blog a bit about our travels. 

In the meantime, look up a neat recipe on Youtube and give it a shot. Oh, and text an old friend this week and say hi.