Merlin's CD

Merlin and I sat down the other day to make a CD of her favorite songs to listen to while on the way to school, and I wanted to share the playlist. These were her choices, not mine, and were picked because she loves them, not randomly...

1. Soul Bossa Nova - Quincy Jones - The Spy Who Shagged Me. (During this song, she tells her brother, "This is where Austin gets naked. Hehe." Moral corruption starts young at our house.

2. The Animaniacs Theme Song - The Animaniacs - The Animaniacs. ("Daddy, who is Bill Clinton?")

3. Scooby Doo - Matthew Sweet - Saturday Morning Cartoons Greatest Hits.

4. One Jump Ahead - Aladdin - Aladdin.

5. If I had a Million Dollars - Barenaked Ladies - Gordon. ("He wants a million dollars so he can give it to that girl he likes.")

6. Mitochondria - Those Who Dig - Those Who Dig. (It will be another five years before she can actually pronounce Mitochondria.)

7. Can't Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue. (Why is he in her head?)

8. The Eagle and The Hawk - John Denver. (My daughter's two years of being schooled by enviormental hippies as given her a deep love of John Denver.)

9. Belleville Rendez-Vous (French Version) - The Triplets of Belleville - (She likes to dance to this one)

10. Beauty Way - Eliza Gilkyson - Hard Times in Babylon. (She likes to sing this song. Especially the first line. "My daddy made a pretty damn good living." Little does she know...)

11. Why Can't I Breathe - Liz Phair - Liz Phair. (My Liz Phair obsession has rubbed off on my daughter, which could mean I will have numerous heart attacks during her teenage years.)

12. Yakko's Word - Animaniacs - Animaniacs. (Yakko lists all the countries in the world. In a fit of inclusion, they also throw Palestine in there.)

13. Balloon Man - Robyn Hitchcock. (I have not told her what this is about).

14. Over The Rainbow - IZ - IZ World. ("Dorothy's song sung by a guy.")

15. Wakko's America - Animaniacs - Animaniacs. (All the states and their capitals, sung by a guy imitating Ringo Starr.)

16. Josies and The Pussycats - Julianna Hatfield and Tanya Donnelly - Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits (This is one of the most requested on the CD.)

17. Be Our Guest - Lumiere - Beauty and the Beast.

18. Kiss the Girl - Sebastian - The Little Mermaid

19. I'll Never Fall In Love Again - Elvis Costello & Burt Bacharach - The Spy Who Shagged Me. ("Why won't he fall in love?)

20. Yakko's Universe - Animaniacs - Animaniacs. ("Who is Mickey Rooney?)

21. Rainbow Connection - Kermit the Frog - The Muppet Movie. ("Kermit!!" See, we have done some things right.)

22. Wannabe - The Spice Girls - The Spice Girls. (Also heavily requested)

23. The Senses - Animaniacs - Animaniacs.

24. I don't want to live on the moon - Ernie - Seseme Street.

25. The Tra La La Song - Liz Phair and Material Issue - Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits. (Merlin sings this one very well.)

Karl Rove: Evil Genius

Just as the Swift Boat Vets story was moving out of the news cycle, Bush condemns the ad, ensuring that the ad will continue being played on the news cycle for another freakin week.

Yahoo News - Bush Criticizes Anti-Kerry Television Ad

So Sad...

I find it patently unfair that despite being thirty, having a good paying job and control of my own back account, I still can't afford tickets to see "Weird Al' Yankovic live.

I mean, $47 bucks a ticket? Damn...

Today, I made a million bucks

but only on the Star Wars Galaxies MMORP Game I obsessively play in the little free time my life affords me.

But still, a millionaire is a millionaire.

If only I didn't have to blow 200,000 credits on Nabooian Berry Fruit...

Shift Work - Sleepchannel.com

So apparently, there is a medical reason I am so freakin tired all the time. Shift Work Sleep Disorder

Shift Work - Sleepchannel.com

Basically it says the bodies of shift workers suffer a permenant jetlag, and are therefore overly tired, even if they are getting their full eight hours, which I don't.

I shall be called DJ Hair-twirl...

Chris loaned me his Grey album recently (a remix of Jay Z's Black Album vocals with the Beatles White album samples) and I have really been enjoying it.

I am not even sure of what the correct terminology for this style of music is. I thought I heard Mashing, but that does not appear to be correct.

Anyway, I now need to know how to make my own mix/mash thing. I have some brilliant ideas for combining albums, and I want to get started. Of course, the Grey Album is a technically solid composition, while I would only be doing it for the comedy factor, but I still need to know the basic supplies to get the job done.

Any ideas?

It's a 6 AM World...

Well, I just inputted Merlin's school calendar into Merideth and I's online calendar this evening. With the combination of Merlin and Merideth in school, and myself working and in school, we are going to be one busy family for the next year. PTA Meetings, after-school lessons, long ass papers for Merideth and tedious busy work for my online classes.

Merlin broke down a bit on the way to school yesterday. She cried that she missed her Mommy and Daddy and didn't want to go to school. I would be lying to say that a little bit of me was not gratified at still being wanted, but sadly the tears had less to do with family time, and more to do with lack of sleep. Merlin, an unabashed night owl, is not used to waking at 6 AM. She is barely used to waking at 9 AM. And despite our attempts to impose an earlier bedtime for her throughout the summer, this waking up when it is dark is driving her nuts. Heck, it drives Merideth and I nuts as well.

But she calmed down before the teacher came to collect her class from the cafeteria/holding pen, so it worked out ok. She just needed the time to wake up and get her brain on straight. But she seems to like school and is making tons of friends. Hopefully, as we practice early to bed and early to rise, it will get easier.

I feel bad because tomorrow morning I will be unable to leave work an hour early, and will therefore not get home until the rest of the family has left for school, leaving Merideth to wake, dress and feed two cranky children. I do not envy her.

Merlin goes to Kindergarten...

(Tear)...

Just a little quote for my wife...

A transcript of a recent Q & A with JK Rowling.

J.K. Rowling Talks Harry Potter:

"Also will we see more of Snape?

You always see a lot of Snape because he is a gift of a character. I hesitate to say that I love him. [Audience member: I do]. You do? This is a very worrying thing. Are you thinking about Alan Rickman or about Snape? [Laughter]. Isn't this life, though? I make this hero - Harry, obviously -and there he is on the screen, the perfect Harry, because Dan is very much as I imagine Harry, but who does every girl under the age of 15 fall in love with? Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy. Girls, stop going for the bad guy. Go for a nice man in the first place. It took me 35 years to learn that, but I am giving you that nugget free, right now, at the beginning of your love lives."

This article makes me happy.

Mass. Republicans Eye Kerry's Senate Seat

Although they take great pains in the article to say "We think he's going to win in November," this article shows that behind the scenes, at least some Republicans are planning for a Kerry win. Sure, it is silly not to prepare for all possibilities, but this article has headlined several news sources in the past few days, which means that this is something that is being seriously looked at by Mass. Republicans.

I am still on record as thinking that Bush will win in November after a voting debacle similar but not exactly akin to Florida 2000. But it makes me happy to think that Republicans feel they need to outline plans for a Kerry administration.

My marriage is 9 years old...

Thursday, August 12th marked my wife and I's ninth wedding anniversary.

In my mind, this means I have fooled my wife into thinking I am worth the aggrevation of married life.

In the obligatory reflection on the last nine years, I marvel at how much chaos surrounds our lives. We seem to be in a constant state of anarchy. Moving between towns, between jobs. Bills out the wazoo. Vacations we can't afford. Projects that were doomed to suck our time, our resources and, often, our sanity. Savings are a mystery and relaxation is a myth.

I feel like normal people don't live like this. I think most people have a level of stability that allows them to better absorb life's traumas, that let them sleep better at night and prepare more for the future.

But here is the thing. As tired as I get from our constant battles with reality, and as much as I spend time dreaming of a more level life, I like the chaos. And I found a wife who likes it too. And for that, I am blessed.

I am lucky to have found a partner that grabs life with zest and abandon, that believes whole-heartledly that together we can do anything, and then acts on that belief. I am lucky to never shy away from opportunities, even when the odds are long., especially when the odds are long.

So, here is to another 9 plus years of mischief and mayham. If anything else, it will be entertaining.

In which I probably annoy just about everyone I like...

OK, I need to get this off my chest. And please know that I say this as someone who is adamantly, rabidly, 100% pro-gay marriage.

The California Supreme Court was correct.

I know, I know. I am a traitor, but please hear me out.

The case before the California Supreme Court was NOT about the constitutionality of the California Gay Marriage Ban. Had that been the case, I would be as upset as anyone. But this case was the very limited question of whether the city of San Francisco broke existing law to offer licenses to gay couples. And sadly, San Francisco obviously did break the law. It was a stupid law, an evil law, but a law voted on by the people of California (the law is Proposition 22, enacted directly by the people of California by a 61% to 39% margin in 2000.)

Again, the question before the Supreme Court was NOT whether Proposition 22 was unconstitutional . The question before the court was whether a municipal body could break a state law it does not agree with. And the answer must be NO if we are to retain any of our civil liberties. What if a law allowing Gay Marriage was passed? Should a city in California be allowed to refuse Gays marriage licenses within their city because they disagree with the law? No. This has to be an absolute. Laws must be followed until those laws are overturned.

I am all for civil disobedience as a way to highlight the unjustness of a law. But it would be a dangerous lunacy to rule that cities can break whatever laws they don't like.

We need to get the question of constitutionality before the California Supreme Court. I think the Court would rule for Gays, and if they didn't, I would be the first to loudly condemn them. Barring the passage of an amendment to the California Constitution, ruling Proposition 22 unconstitutional would pave the way for gay marriages that are protected by the rule of law, not in defiance of them.

Of course, I am not a lawyer, and so this diatribe must be taking with a grain of salt. My buddy Chris may think I am full of crap...

I want legal gay marriage, and I want them now. But trust me, once gay marriage is legal, we will need the full force of the law to protect it.

More Info About Bush's Brain

Screening Dates and times can be found at

http://bushsbrain.com/coming.htm

So far, it will be all over Texas, California, in New York City, Washington DC, Chicago, Seattle, Portland and Milwalkee.

Please go see it. Not only will you be helping out my buddy Dave, but you will be seeing a look at the evil genius behind Bush's rise to power, karl Rove.

Bush's Brain - A Documentary About Karl Rove

I have a lot of things to blog about and I am attempting to organize my thoughts now. But first, I wanted to direct your attention to this website.

http://www.bushsbrain.com/

The film is a documentary about Karl Rove, and you can watch the trailer. The trailer's score, and the score of the film, was written by
my buddy Dave. So bully for you, Dave. Good show.

We must all go see the movie as a group when it hits Austin.

Damn Weight Watchers

One of the nice things about diets, especially for large men such as myself, is the large weight loss the first week. Last year when I started Weight Watchers, I lost 10 pounds my first week. This gives you the motivation to really keep at it.

Well, after getting back on a week ago, and religiously sticking to it, I found I lost 2.2 pounds. 2.2, damn it. That is practically nothing. It hardly seems worth the starvation.

So, I gorged on food last night at Adam's House in protest, but I am back on the diet today. We will see how I do.

My Final Frontier

I can't tell you how excited I am that some billionaire is busy building a privately-funder space station. This in conjuntion with the two spaceships posed to battle it out for the XPrize, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's SpaceShip One and the volunteer driven Da Vinci Project mean that not only are we approaching spaceships open to the public, but that the public will have somewhere to go once we get into space.

I hate that I was born in a period of space stagnation. It is patently unfair that man has not walked on the moon in my lifetime (the last moon landing was five months before I was born). It seems such a wasted thirty years. Had we followed through, we would have a moon base by now. Space stations. Possibly even tread on Mars. I would have thought that the potential for zero-gravity manufacturing would have pushed industry into orbit. But for reasons I do not comprehend, we wussed out, satisfied to beat the Russians and call it a day.

But now it looks as though the boys and girls of the fifties who watched in awe as man first blasted into space have grown up, and some of them have become billionaires. By working towards space, they are able to rekindle that child-like wonder at the glory of just doing something that one hundred years ago would have been considered ludicrous.

My love of these private ventures reveals my non-socialist streak. We need Socialized Medicine, because Americans should not die because they are poor. Social Security should be preserved and expanded, because anyone who works hard their whole life deserves to live their last years free of financial worry. But I see these things as rights. Health Care and Social Security are part of a social contract we have as Americans and therefore the government should ensure that all Americans have access to them.

But exploration is not a right. it is a privilege. And as such, it is best accomplished by people driven mad with the desire to do more, go farther, take the next step. Exploration happens because crazy people put their dreams into motion and a government entity cannot simulate that. Nor can it convince the majority that these dreams are important. The dreamer must first achieve his goal before the dream can catch on. The dreamer must also be willing to lose everything. Money, prestige, even his life for the sake of the dream, and a government can't make the same sacrifice.

I believe the exploration of space is vital. I believe mankind is at its best when it is stretching the borders of what is possible. I believe the momentary awe of witnessing someone do something that has never been done before is the closest proof we have that we as a people can do anything we set out to do. That I can do anything I set out to do.

I have made a personal vow that I will get into space somehow. I am willing to wait a long time. But not forever. If I get to be about 80, and there is no way I am getting into space, I will just build something in the backyard and hope for the best. I am thinking a 50 mile long catapult in the Himalayas, but I have some time to iron out the details.

I love iTunes

In case you missed any of the speeches at the Democratic National Convention, iTunes has them all available for a free download. So go hear John or Bill or Hillary or all of them. Most important, check out Barack Obama's speech, which was superb in both content and style.

Also, I added some new features to the blog. First, a new comments generator, as I like the kind that pop up a lot better. Second, the blog is now syndicated on LiveJournal. So, friend graelentblog if Live Journal is your online community of choice.

Happy Birthday Gavin

Just wanted to say Happy Birthday to son Gavin, who turns 4 today. He had his birthday party yesterday at Little Stacy Park Pool with friends and family and everyone had a wonderful time. Gavin got tons of cool stuff, and I look forward to playing with them once I stop working unGodly amounts of overtime.

To say I swell with pride when I watch what a gentle, curious and happy child he is would be an understatement.

I will miss the little boy who so readily cuddles up with me when we sleep and thinks I can do anything, but I look forward to watching him grow into an adult in his own right. Just not too quickly.

Way Too Bored...

I have been spending the evening sleepily perusing Project Vote Smart's listing of all Presidential Candidates. There are tons of them and they make for a great read. And after looking over the candidates, their positions and their websites, I wanted to make some suggestions to the aspiring Presidents.

1. Never, ever set your campaign website up on Geocities, Tripod or Angelfire.

2. Promising to outlaw abortion your first day in office is a good way of showing the country you have no freakin' idea how government works.

3. When running for President, do not combine your campaign website with your website detailing miracle cure for muscle disease, SARS and cancer. Especially when you are not a doctor and can not scientifically prove your claim.

4. If you wanted to get the comedy vote, you should have named your party the National Barking Spider Resurgence Party.

5. If you want to legalize marijuana and outlaw alcohol, please tell us why.

6. Saying you were a candidate in the California recall election of 2003 does not qualify you for higher office. (Too many examples to list here.)

7. Please don't tell us your nickname is Watchman or Messiah.

8. Do not name your campaign after a reality show.

9. Under Family, please be more specific than 2 or more children. Not knowing the exact number of children you have is a bit unsettling to the Average American.

10. Under No circumstance do you list Wild Orchid as your favorite film.

News et al.

Well, good afternoon.

Once again it has been a while since I have update my blog. While I have often thought of a good quote or wanted to comment on something, I have not for a variety of reasons.

1. Often, as I sit at the computer, my mind goes blank on even potentially interesting things to say.

2. My work schedule, 9 PM to 7 AM, leaves me with little sleep and almost no "good" sleep. So, while I sit in front of a computer all night at work, my brain is often working as hard as it can to just stay awake, much less construct a coherent thought and then write it down.

3. I don't want to seem like I am whining. Mind you, I don't have really anything to whine about, but still...

So, here is the news. First, you might notice that I put my Weight Watchers stats up in the top left corner of the blog. I really need to lose some weight and my personality is such that the diet will go better if I know that people I know and respect will be able to monitor my progress. It feels a little exhibitionistic, but that is, sadly, a large part of my character.

Second, the big news. We were able to finagle a transfer for Merlin from a mediocre school to a first rate public school in Austin. We signed her up yesterday, and she starts kindergarten in a week and a half. Very exciting stuff. I can't wait, although it feels like yet another marker in my journey to old age and senility.

Awhile ago, I found out that I was being laid off as of Nov 1st. Most of my brain thought this was great news. I had already enrolled in college to take teacher certification classes and have really hated my job for quite some time. But, a small part of my brain got very annoyed. I have never been fired from a job before. In fact, I have never worked somewhere that did not offer me more money and rank if I stayed. I was really not aware of how much pride I take in being a good employee until someone fired me, and that rejection stung me far more than would have anticipated.

But, I start classes later this month and, if all goes well, I will have my teaching certification and a teaching job by this time next year.

I hope to blog more often, especially about the election. Not that my election bloggery will make any difference but at least I will get it off my chest. I am quite paranoid about this election and am convinced Bush will win, because the majority of Americans only pay attention to the soundbytes, and the Republicans have a much better spin machine than the Dems. I want Kerry to win, and will happily pay Adam for the lap dance I bet him if Kerry pulls it off, but right now, I can just see the 2000 election happening all over again.

More soon.