Favorite Music

A student asked me the other day what my favorite songs of all time were. I hadn't thought about that in awhile so I decided to make a list...I love lists. These are my current favorite rock/pop songs of all time. I limited a group to only one song...so a group like the Beatles or Zeppelin only get one song despite singing many of my favorite songs. The list is constantly changing so this is simply a snapshot.

My top twenty (in no particular order) favorite songs at the moment.

Lazy Boy by Brazzaville
Sleepwalker by Santo and Johnny

Holiday by Weezer

D'yer Maker by Led Zeppelin

I Can Hear Music by The Beach Boys

Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles

Hook by Blues Traveler

Candela by Buena Vista Social Club

Waiting For My Lucky Day by Chris Isaak

Sweet Jane by the Cowboy Junkies

Do You Realize? by The Flaming Lips

Monkey Wrench by Foo Fighters

The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News

Blue by The Jayhawks

Here Comes Your Man by the Pixies

My Iron Lung by Radiohead

Don't Look Back in Anger by Oasis

Since I Don't Have You by The Skyliners

Blue Moon by The Mavericks

Invisible Touch by Genesis

photo: Jackson stealing one of my CDs

The Perversion of War

Earlier this week France's last surviving World War I veteran died at the age of 110. Shortly before he died he gave an interview where he said... "You shoot at men who are fathers. War is completely stupid."

This week I have been reading The Histories by Herodotus. He relates the story of Croesus, king of Lydia (in present day Turkey) who made this cogent observation in the fifth century BCE about how war is essentially an artificial and un-natural invention of man.

"In peace sons bury their fathers. In war fathers bury their sons."

photo: Kimberly, me and Jackson at his first birthday party last January.

Bodemania!

Bode Miller has won his second overall World Cup Championship. This is an amazing feat for an American that will probably generate little interest in the media which is still ticked that Miller blew off their Olympic predictions in 2006 by failing to medal. Many thought Miller was done after 06...he left the U.S. Ski Team to compete individually. However, he blew everyone away by winning six races this year. Last year he won the World Cup title in the Super G...this year he wins the Super-Combined and the Overall titles. He broke Mahre's American of career World Cup victories and he still has those two silvers from the 02 Olympics. He is no doubt the greatest American skiier ever and he probably won't get any mag covers for it. America would rather talk NASCAR. An American beating the Swiss, Austrians and Germans in skiing? Unbelievable.

Birthday? What Birthday?

So yesterday I was a bit blue as I felt the relentless march of mortality as my birthday (today) drew nigh.

I had to make a late night stop at Wal*Mart and I ran into one of my former students working in the electronics department. He updated me on his life and told me he had just gotten married, was graduating from A&M Commerce in May and was about to begin student teaching. He is majoring in World History and is going to be a History teacher. He said that I was the prime inspiration for him getting into teaching and that everyone told him you had to coach to be a history teacher in Texas. He said, "I always told them that wasn't true since I had a World History teacher in Kaufman who didn't coach. He just taught and that's what I'm going to do."

Wow. You don't hear that kind of feedback very often. I was a bit happier after that. Then tonight, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner and ran into another former student with her parents. She's on spring break and told me she was finishing her junior year and is also going to be a high school teacher. Again...wow.

So I am blue no more.

Jackson Walking

Yes...you read that right. Jackson is walking. He began taking several steps in a row last Friday. And now he's very proud of himself. Here's a series of short video clips of the little walking maniac.