Decade Old Fragments: 10 Years of Blogging

In my very first blog post, I wrote,

"If I write something, it will be posted here. Just don't expect too much. I'll probably abandon it sooner or later."

Well, ten years later and the blog is still chugging along. I undersold the blog because, well, I didn't quite know what it would become (I also tend to undersell everything as I find there's wisdom in doing so). Additionally, I was so haphazard, unfocused and busy that the best one could hope for, would be a blog featuring just the bare fragments of ideas. A blog not themed on any one topic but serving as an outlet for random ideas, memories, musings, etc.

Well, by no planning and almost zero foresight, today marks my tenth year (and 372 posts) of blogging. 

So, uncork the champagne and order cake and balloons and celebrate my first decade of blogging. 

Just a pic of me and some buddies having the time of our lives. We had a big party for the blog last weekend, the rule was we all had to wear black and get our teeth whitened. Don't get your feelings hurt because you weren't invited. It was a pretty exclusive party. I couldn't invite all my readers.

Sure, it's not like I blog every day, but still, nothing to sneeze at either, bub. You know anyone else  that has a blog after 10 years of almost zero readership?

Yeah, neither do I......um...erm...(sigh)....yeah, not many of us left.


Anyway, I started the blog at the tail end of the Golden Era of personal blogs (2003-20011).  During that time, MySpace was a thing but with the ascendancy of Facebook, blogs changed. When my wife and I had our first baby she blogged about motherhood and the kids and it was a damn good blog. I think she blogged for about  3-5 years, but when kiddo # 3 came around, the blog became defunct (I mean, a lot of things become defunct when you have three kids).

FB changed everything. After all, it was a hell of a lot easier to update and to maintain a profile than to blog.  In the early teens, there were still a good number of news blogs, but alas, many of those have fallen by the way side as well.

I'm sure there's plenty of personal blogs out there but as much as I joke about having no readers...I'm not reading anyone else's blog either (but seriously, I'll follow yours if you follow mine).

I and the blog have changed over the years, but one thing hasn't changed. I still find it enjoyable to write. I might have a beer tonight to celebrate. Here's to another ten years of blogging about whatever weird stuff strikes my fancy. So, click around if you'd like or not and just go along your merry way.

Either way, cheers.

My Personal Favorites

Confucius Didn't Say That! (on going blog series in which I explore fake Confucius quotes)
Death, Birds, Hope 
Spurs Memories from the 1980's (find out how I met Coach Pop)   
The Problem with Truth 
Ode to Weezer's "Across the Sea"
Death is like... 
Life is like...
Six Underrated Albums from the 90's

A Poem for my Children
A short story entitled "The Execution of a Komodo Dragon"


Weird Stuff I Blogged About

I lived like a Muslim for a Week
An abandoned idea from college for a cartoon entitled, "Burrito Boy"
I wrote a whole post about the Wiggles, that's pretty weird.
I review Google Reviews of Machu Pichu 
I ask a lot of questions about Disney cartoon characters, like good questions.


The Best Detours in Philosophy/Religion

A blog in which I rant about existentialism, Horton Hears a Who, Steven Hawkins, etc. 
Deep Dive on Forgiveness as seen in Jesus and Mohammad
Stories Before the Big Bang
The Ineffability of Life
Truth as a Object/Truth as a Journey 
My blog about going to a Skih Center. 
 
Best Comic Book Posts

Comics Stories: Fragments on Comics and 1986
My Five Favorite Comic Book Cliffhangers
Lies, Damned Lies and Comic Books

The Best of my Bio Blog posts/series
A series of posts on mix-tapes and CD's I made back in the 90's
I had cancer once
Reflecting on my days as a DJ in college
Fragments on going to Lollapooza in 1996
I taught in Peru in 2014
I miss my friend  
Old Sketch becomes a Treasure
How I Met Your Mother (series on how I met my wife)
The Wonder Years (High School Retrospective)
I was in a local production of Wizard of Oz

Favorite Art Posts 
Barbar the Elephant
I Like Stars 
Trolls, lots of 'em 
Old Photos 2005-2007 
Self Portrait (2014)
Dr. Seuss' Sleep Book

Favorite Music Posts
Breeders Concert Review
Weezer's Tragic Girl
Weezer Concert Review
Insanely Detailed Conception of what would be on my Deluxe edition of Weezer's Blue Album should have been.
Six Underrated Albums from the 90's


Best Spurs Posts 
Spurs Memories from the 1980's (find out how I met Coach Pop)  

Some of my favorite Sports moments 

90's Spurs Memories

If you're still reading this, why? Just click around or be on your way. I'm pretty sure I'll be around blogging till Google folds Blogger into internet oblivion or I die. In the meantime, while we face the pandemic, talk a nice walk outside in the evening, take a deep breath and stare up at the stars and wonder.

Art Post: Donald Duck: The Black Pearls of Tabu

It's been awhile since I've shared an art project. Given that I have had a little more time to be home  (as we all do), I started doodling a scene from a Carl Bark's story, "The Black Pearls of Tabu Yama". I have love of Carl Barks, so it was just a matter of time when I found the right thing to re-create. The image comes from the first page of the story, and I found it quite captivating.

So, I went for it. I was hampered by two major things. First, I didn't have enough paint to paint it, so I decided on using map pencils. I also couldn't scourge up a small enough ink point and being that we are in quarantine, I didn't have the patience to just wait for an online order, so I worked ahead anyway despite my limitations.  While map pencils have their own unique, child-like charm, it is still an imperfect medium. Nevertheless, it is what it is: a fun project to waste the hours of the day, to day-dream about an adventure on the high sea.

I added a few more seagulls and clouds as well to fill up the now vacated space.

I'd give you a close up of the ship but man, I really goofed up those ducks.

Nirvana: Best/Worst/Favorite/Overrated/Underrated - Album by Album

 Hello All,

I started a new series reviewing some of my favorite artist's discography. Last time I did the Beatles and that was really fun, so I'm back to revel in my own self-righteous opinions. This time I'm covering another big favorite of mine...Nirvana.

 As always, here's 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".

Overrated/Underrated - As I typically don't talk to people about the Nirvana nor am I reading much about them these days...so, this is just a general, what I think others think. Also, the Underrated category acts as another way for me to shoe horn one 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 but the one I connected with the most or have a special memory associated with.

Bleach

Best: "About a Girl"
Worst: "Paper Cuts" 
Favorite: "About a Girl"/"Love Buzz"
Overrated: "About a Girl"
Underrated: "Love Buzz"/"Blew"

Nevermind

Best: "In Bloom"/"Drain You" (this was tough, this album has so many near perfect gems)
Worst: "Stay Away"
Favorite: "In Bloom"
Overrated: There's the obvious choice, and that that would be correct but I'm going to go with every beginning guitar player's go-to "Come As You Are" (and for the record I love this song)
Underrated: "On a Plain"

Hormoaning

Included because, hey, why not? Let's do an unnecessary deep dive on a EP that was only regionally released and consists of mainly cover songs?

Best: "Aneurysm" (such a cool tune)
Worst: "Even in His Youth" (and this is a decent track too)
Favorite: "Turnaround" (maybe my favorite cover of any song by any band)
Overrated: "Aneurysm" (just here because it has to be the only song the general public knows about) but this was
Underrated:Everything except "Aneurysm" but I guess "D-7"

Incesticide

Best: "Aneurysm" (well, this is awkward but yeah, it fits the bill again)
Worst: "Big Long Now" (yawn)
Favorite: "Turnaround" (again, it's here but it's that good) & "Son of a Gun"
Overrated: "Sliver" (I still love it)
Underrated:"Beeswax"

In Utero

Best: "Heart Shaped Box"
Worst: "tourette's" (it ain't that bad either)
Favorite: "All Apologies"/"Dumb"/the first 30 seconds of"Scentless Apprentice"
Overrated:"Rape Me"
Underrated: "Very Ape" and "Radio Friendly Unit Shifter"


Unplugged in NYC

Best:"Where Did You Sleep Last Night?"
Worst: "Pennyroyal Tea" (ok sorry, it's not the greatest but if you've heard the rehearsal footage with Pat Smear trying to sing backup vocals, this is X1000 better...it's like they were too afraid to tell him he was off key).
Favorite:"Man Who Sold the World"
Overrated: "Pennyroyal Tea"(gotta pick something)
Underrated: "Oh Me"

From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah

I don't wanna do this album. It's a fine compilation of live tracks, I mean it's good but I don't listen to it much anymore. Off the top of my head, my personal faves are "School", "Spank Thru" and of course, you guessed it, "Aneurysm"

With the Lights Out - Box Set 
After pining after a box for almost a decade, the box set finally came out and by then, I was not the hardcore Nirvana fan I used to be. I couldn't really justify spending hundreds of dollars on the set and the "Best of" set I had already heard 90% of it on bootlegs. So, suffice to say, I don't have a list of either. I'm tired and can't list anymore Nirvana songs this late either!

The Beatles: Best/Worst/Favorite/Overrated/Underrated - Album by Album

Hey I'm bored during a pandemic and I got idea for a new blog series.

 I am happy I'm not dying (yet), and I hope you're staying safe as well! We're in a new world and frankly, I want the old one back.

Anyway, with this series, I will be exploring my favorite artist's discography with quick lists off the album. The good news is, if you think my opinions stink, the blog itself will be a pretty quick read. Suffice to say, this was pretty hard to do. There were some amazing Beatles songs that didn't make the cut and singles like "Rain" that aren't on a proper "album". That said, the challenges made it more fun too.

As always, here's 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".

Overrated/Underrated - As I typically don't talk to people about the Beatles nor am I reading much about them either, this is just a general, what I think others think. Also, the Underrated category acts as another way for me to shoe horn one 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 but the one I connected with the most or have a special memory associated with.


-----------------------

 Please Please Me & With The Beatles 

Given the lack of original songs, I am just combining these and adding another category. Already with the first two albums and I am already breaking my own rules, I am god of this blog and I do as I like.


Best: "All My Loving"
Worst: "Little Child"
Favorite: "All My Loving"
Overrated: "I Saw Her Standing There" (ducks tomatoes being thrown...something had to go here)
Underrated: "Love Me Do"

Best Cover: "Twist & Shout" (Overplayed? Overrated? Maybe - but still an amazing performance)

 
A Hard Day's Night 


Best: "If I Fell"
Worst:"I'll Cry Instead"/"You Can't Do That"  annoying and "You Can't..." is gross lyrically)
Favorite: "If I Fell"/"I Should Have Known Better" (look, it's my blog, there's two, get over it)
Overrated: "And I Love Her"
Underrated:"Things We Said Today"


Beatles for Sale 
 
Look, I never really listen to this album...so, I'm skipping it, although I am partial to "I'm a Loser" and "I'll Follow the Sun".


Help! 

Best: "Ticket to Ride" (it's just such an amazing pop song, I can't deny its placement here)
Worst: eh, I dunno,"The Night Before" ? That kinda sucks.
Favorite: "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" (another vocal home run- I'm in love with this song)
Overrated: "Yesterday" (duh)
Underrated:"You're Gonna Lose That Girl"/"I've Just Seen A Face"


Rubber Soul

Best: "In My Life"
Worst: "Run for Your Life" (it's just so gross lyrically but I admit it's an ear-worm)
Favorite: "I'm Looking Through You" (one of my all time fave post break-up songs)
Overrated: "In My Life"
Underrated: "Michelle" (Just a perfect twinge of sweetness and wistfulness that makes me feel warm and fuzzy)

Revolver 

Best: "Here There And Everywhere"
Worst: "Doctor Roberts" (it's good but goofy)
Favorite: "I'm Only Sleeping"/"And Your Bird Can Sing"/"She Said She Said" (also like three other songs, I had to stop somewhere).
Overrated: "Eleanor Rigby" and "Yellow Submarine"
Underrated: "Good Day Sunshine" (pure cheese by Paul, but damn, it's good cheese)

Sgt Pepper's 

Best: "A Day in the Life" (someone might track me down and hurt me if I didn't place this here)
Worst: "Within You Without You" (I'm the kinda Beatles fan that gets bummed by a Indian-inspired tune - just too drone-y and boring).
Favorite: "When I'm Sixty-Four" (What can I say? I'm a romantic)
Overrated: "A Day in the Life" (it's true)
Underrated: "Fixing a Hole"

Magical Mystery Tour (I know, I know this barely counts as an album)

Best: "Strawberry Fields Forever" (one of the best songs in the history of pop music)
Worst: "Blue Jay Way" (one of the worst songs in the history of pop music - just kidding but it's bad).
Favorite:"Strawberry Fields Forever"
Overrated: "All You Need is Love" (it hurts me to write this but it's true)
Underrated: "Hello/Goodbye" (not sure if this is even possible, but I'm putting it here)

White Album (I'm cheating, so sue me)

Sides 1 & 2

Best:"While My Guitar Gently Weeps"
Worst: "Rocky Racoon"
Favorite: "I'm So Tired"/"Happiness Is A Warm Gun"
Overrated: "Glass Onion" (fun but ya know, a little too cheeky)
Underrated: "I'm So Tired"/"I Will"

Sides 3 & 4

Best: "Long Long Long"
Worst: "Revolution 9"  (Should I apologize for this? It was a great choice for the time though)
Favorite: "Long Long Long"/"Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except for Me and My Monkey"
Overrated: "Birthday" (for lack of a better selection...?)
Underrated: "Honey Pie"/"Helter Skelter"

I refuse to do Yellow Submarine. 

Abbey Road

Best: "Here Comes the Sun"
Worst: "Maxwell's Silver Hammer" (this song should not exist and it's everyone who has a brain's least favorite Beatles song)
Favorite: The Melody the ends the album/"Here Comes the Sun"
Overrated: "Something"/"Come Together" (Have you heard the Elvis cover of "Something"? - Don't do it, just don't, it might make you hate it)
Underrated: "Oh! Darling!"

Let It Be

Best: "Two of Us"/"Across the Universe"
Worst: "Dig a Pony"
Favorite: "Two of Us"
Overrated: "Let it Be" (duh)
Underrated: "Two of Us"

Well, there ya have it folks, next up I'm going for Nirvana.

Poem Post: An old poem

Hey poem lovers!

I haven't posted an old poem here in a good long while. I was digging around in my old favorite poetry book and here's a poem I still quite like. I am pretty sure this was written late in college, trying to inspire myself to do something with my life. Because I can basically never stop (Excuse me, I suffer from GLS - George Lucas Syndrome)...I just added a few lines to make it "better".


and if they try to frighten me with tales of woe,
so be it I say,
for it is better to have lived
than to walk amongst the dead.
and if I fall and fail,
so be it I say,
for it is better to have fallen
than to be scared away.
and if they tell me I will learn to regret and only turn grey,
so be it I say,
for it is better to hope even if you've lost your way.


It's kinda got all my hallmarks...and honestly, there's still in my writing style today... it's a heart-on-my-sleeve, simple and, well, adolescent in outlook.

It just happens that way. I wish I could be deep, smart and moody (I'm just that way in real life).

Cheers to all of you in the nether-world of the internet, may this good will wishing find you well and may you day be easy and warm. 

Fresh Start Fragments

It's been a good while since I've caught up with my imaginary readers on this crazy thing called life, here's the latest.

Yeah, we finally moved and all went well. It still feels like someone took all our stuff and we live in someone else's house. It will take awhile to feel like home. I have driven back into the old neighborhood on accident a few times and reach for a string for the closest light that is no longer there.  Still, I like the new house. We got some space now and we ordered a foosball table. Oh yeah. That's a dream come true.

We were driving to dinner out one night and as we passed a sea food place, I was like, "Hey, how about sea food?" and H, our 7 year-old said, "Oh, I hate sea food, except fish, I love fish".

Here's some more kid updates:

C is in 8th grade and amazes me all the time with her humor and heart. She's so talented at playing flute and she's always working on a novel.

E is in 5th grade and getting too old. I love being weird with her, tonight I told her that when you meet someone with the same name as you, you exchange boogers and place their boogers in your nose. She didn't believe me. She's doing great in ballet and is in musical revue at the church theater this spring.

H had a hard time adjusting to the new house but is doing better now. He's loving our new neighborhood is full of boys and having fun playing outside. He's getting obsessed with football, but he knows he is not playing in middle school or high school. We're getting a Switch soon and I am very excited. 

I started binging The Twilight Zone on Hulu (yes, the originals from the 60's). So good and weird and sometimes cheesy. Maybe I'll post my top ten when I'm done. Don't hold your breath.

Lots of excited stuff going on at work but I can't really share it here as I would prefer to remain as anonymous as possible (ya know, just in case some creeper is looking for me, still pretty sure if someone was actually motivated, you could figure out who I am).

Finally, I just realized in April, I will enter my tenth year of blogging. That's nuts. I'll list my favorite posts and have a proper retrospective when the time comes.

That's all for now, kids. Don't forget to double-knot your shoes and drink plenty of water.

Poem For My Children

Advice is a dangerous thing. It's usually given for free and circumstances and individuals can vary wildly, rendering given advice useless.

Anyhoot, I am throwing caution to the wind. The poem came to me in two separate pieces over a 48 hour period. It might be a little smug and cloying but it comes from the right place, I hadn’t intended for it to be written for anyone in particular but it became “advice-cy” driven and halfway through, I knew what it was.

As always, your mileage may vary.

For My Children 

When the world calls out, with her sirens calling,

hold tight and laugh at her insignificance. 

This meaningless piece of dirt has nothing on you.

When money whips you with its displeasure, 

smile at its weakness, for all it can buy is future trash.

When the red tide comes in, give it the finger, 

because there is good in this world and it’s easy to miss.

The chemicals buzzing in that brain of yours are as real as love, 

as real as you and me. 

Reality might be twisted in knots and puzzles, 

but its mazes have their own rewards. 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve found my way out,

so I admit, I’ve been lost more times than I can count. 

I can’t tell you how to live with the knowledge of your impending death,

only that you must balance knowing you will die with living fully until that time.  

If you wonder why things are the way they are, then you’re on the right track,

and if you know it’s better to be kind than right then I tip my hat.

My children, I only wish for sunlight on your days and moonlight on your nights.

May you dream with your eyes open and sleep with your hearts held tight.