NASA Mug

An ode to my NASA mug...

NASA mug, oh NASA mug.

You are mug amazing. 

Although made in China,

You represent America. American

hopes and dreams of a future fantastic. 

When I drink of thee I pretend I'm 

an engineer building rocket-ships to

the stars even though I had to take college algebra twice and still use my fingers to count. 

When holding thee I feel like a controller at Mission Control 

or a specialist at the Jet Propulsion Lab. For just an instant. 

For then my green tea is finished and 

I am teaching history again. But NASA 

mug, for just a moment...a brief shining moment, I was among the exploding stars and nebulae. 

Thank you NASA mug. 

Acolytes

Yesterday the Little Man served as an acolyte in church for the first time. 

I love the tradition of acolytes in the Methodist Church. I wasn't aware of the tradition, growing up as I did in a less liturgical tradition. 

Two candles are lit by kids at the beginning of the service to represent the presence of Christ in the service. There are two lights to remind that Jesus was both God and man. 

At the end of the service the acolyte recaptures the light with their candlelighter and then follows the pastor out of the sanctuary to represent the light of Christ going out into the world where believers are called to serve. 

Symbols are powerful. I feel an added poignancy to the service with the entrance and exit of the acolytes. I feel a sense of the spiritual mystery of Christ's divinity and as a Christian mystic this tradition appeals to me greatly. 

Jackson did a great job on very short notice! 

New Cans

Last week I finally ponied up for some nice headphones. I wanted a nice high-end pair but I didn't want to go too crazy on price. The same cans kept popping up in all the tech and audiophile sites...the 

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. MSRP is around $200 but Amazon had them for less than $150. For years I had read that suckers by Beats, audiophiles buy the AT's. The Audio-Technicas had a reputation for much better sound quality than Beats but for a lot lower price. Beats, all the sites repeated, sold based on hype and marketing. The Audio-Technica ATH-M50x were the phones you found in studios used by professionals. 

So after casually browsing reviews for a couple of years and seeing the AT's mentioned time and time again I decided to take the plunge. And I was nervous. I know there are $600 sets out there but $150 is still a good-sized investment for me. 

But my gosh, they deliver. They are the real deal. UPS had them on my porch last Saturday. I carefully opened them. I first decided to listen to Blue Train by John Coltrane on my current pair of $75 Sonys which I had been using for several years. Then I plugged in the Audio-Technicas. 

WOW.

I mean WOW. 

The hype was real. The bass is powerful but not dominating. I heard riffs I had never heard before in a song I've heard a million times. These headphones are designed to play the music as intended by the artist. They don't add unnecessary mixing. Nothing is obscured by mix-happy sound engineers. You get the music as it was meant to be heard. Or as close as possible. 

I always thought my Sony noise cancellation headphones were decent. They are dozens times better than ear buds. But they sounded hollow and cheap in comparison to the AT's. I couldn't believe the difference. With the AT's I felt as if I was standing in the middle of Coltrane's quintet as they were playing. 

So I tried out different genres and styles. I listened to Beethoven and Radiohead. I gave Weezer and the Beatles a spin. I listened to Thievery Corporation and M Ward. I switched between my old Sonys and the AT's and was continuously astounded by the brilliance of the sound in my new Audio-Technicas. 

It was almost like hearing music for the first time. I am not exaggerating. Well, maybe a tiny bit. But they are unbelievably great. 

The new ATH-M50x's feature three detachable cords (two straight and one curly) of varying lengths. I don't plan on using these a whole lot on the go. They are big but comfortable. I will mostly use them at home and maybe for long trips on a plane or car. For everyday trips to Walmart or wherever I will still use my measly Apple earbuds. They also come with an adapter to plug into your home system and a nice leather bag. 

So I don't care whether or not the new iPhones have headphones jacks or not. These new headphones will make the phone adapter worth it. 

The Book of Common Prayer

Another excellent resource that I have adopted in my daily prayer and meditations is The Book of Common Prayer App which is now available on iTunes. 

The app, adapted from Shane Claiborne's book, leads readers through a series of concise liturgies to aid in daily prayer and contemplation. 

Here is the product description on iTunes...

Common Prayer helps today’s diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of how various liturgical traditions pray, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to over fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants. Tools for prayer are scattered throughout to aid those who are unfamiliar with liturgy and to deepen the prayer life of those who are familiar with liturgical prayer. Ultimately, Common Prayer makes liturgy dance, taking the best of the old and bringing new life to it with a fresh fingerprint for the contemporary renewal of the church. Churches and individuals who desire a deeper prayer life and those familiar with Shane Claiborne and New Monasticism will enjoy the tools offered in this book as a fresh take on liturgy.

I have found the app a peaceful respite throughout the day. I recommend it highly. 

First Week

First week done! Only 35 more to go! I better get busy, not much time left!

They do go by fast. This first week highlights the fact that we must embrace the chaos this year. Heavy rains during the week soaked our kids as they made their way from the main building to the cafeteria and gym. That's a pool outside my room. Construction has made everything a mess. But we are embracing the chaos!

My kids are great. I have 34 of them in my 5th Period on-level World History class. But we are embracing the chaos. 

It will be an exciting year. In a couple of years, when normalcy has returned and we're all in the humdrum of the routine in a new building, we'll look back fondly at these days of insanity. 

Blessing of the Backpacks

Today our church, Heath First United Methodist, celebrated The Blessings of the Backpacks. Tomorrow school begins. I'm excited. 

Ready

I'm ready. Classes start Monday. My eighteenth year, sixteen in this classroom. But this is the last semester in the old Temple of Doom. Construction timetables have us moving to new shinier digs in January. If I look to my right, out the window, here's the view...

Kind of a mess right now with all the surprising August rains. That used to be my parking space. I will be sad to say goodbye to the old place. Sixteen years I've been in that room, more than most of the houses I've lived in my life. I'll probably be in an upstairs room. I won't have carpet, I will lose 80 square feet and I'll be a bit out of the main traffic patterns. However, a new place will provide a nice fresh start.

I'm also completely revising all three of my courses this year. I needed to innovate. Maybe I'm being a bit too ambitious. But I needed to get out of my rut. Last year was rough, losing my Dad in the first week of school. I lost motivation. I just wanted to get through the day. This year, I'm fired up. I'm ready to go. It's going to be crazy. It's going to be chaotic. It's going to be great. 

Mindfulness

As you can see, I haven't blogged in over three months. Those months just happen to coincide with summer vacation. We were pretty busy, as usual, this summer. Traveled to Florida, Indiana, and Oklahoma. Kept pretty busy in Texas. Now I'm back in preparations for school to start. I'm getting ready to get back into the routine. Things are about to get hectic. School, writing a thesis, little league...the usual.

One of the most important parts of my daily routine is time for contemplation and meditation. I've discovered if I can dedicate just ten to fifteen minutes a day to mediation and prayer my life improves remarkably. My blood pressure goes down. The ways I handle stress are much healthier. Problems do not loom so large. My outlook becomes much more positive. And I grow closer to God.

My practice is pretty quick and simple. I have an app on my phone called the Centering Prayer App. It's a highly customizable app that helps guide you through a series of steps to still your mind. Currently I have mine set to the following steps...

A recitation of Psalms 46:10 - Be still and know that I am God. I take a deep breath and recite this prayer three times. The last time I begin dropping off parts of the prayer...

Be still and know that I am God.
Be still and know that I am.
Be still and know
Be still
Be

Then the app chimes and leads me into four minutes of quiet reflection. The timer can be set to whatever duration you wish. I've increased it from three to four minutes and hope to expand to five minutes soon. During those quiet minutes I recite the Jesus Prayer slowly and quietly to myself over and over again.

Dear Jesus, have mercy on me...a sinner.

I repeat that prayer quieting my mind and focusing my busy thoughts on to Christ.

The chime rings and gives me the verse Romans 12:12 which I read out loud...

Rejoice in hope,
endure in affliction,
persevere in prayer.

I take a deep breath and open up a second app called Sacred Space. Sacred Space leads you through a series of six short prayers and meditations curated by Jesuit Monks in Ireland. These prayers mirror the Ignatian prayer exercises created by St. Ignatius Loyola centuries ago. They follow the pattern of...

The Presence of God
Freedom in God
Consciousness
The Word
Conversation
Conclusion

You can also find Sacred Space online at sacredspace.ie

I wrap up my time of contemplation with a daily text from the director of Seedbed. Seedbed is a publishing company associated with Asbury Theological Seminary. Seedbed is a Methodist movement seeking to bring people closer to Christ. Their doctrine is Wesleyian. You can subscribe to a short daily devotional from Seedbed's director J.D. Walt that is emailed to your inbox. The devotional is short, meditative and closes with introspective questions. I find these short devos challenging and thoughtful.

That's my process. It usually takes about ten to fifteen minutes. But those ten minutes make a huge difference in my day. I function better. My mind is clearer. My purpose in life reinforced. And most importantly I feel a deeper connection with my Savior.

Empty Classrooms

Public education faces many challenges. But one challenge that I don't hear mentioned much in the media or by parents is actually one of the most concerning. I'm speaking of the number of absences accrued by students due to extra-curricular activities and special "school related" activities.

I have students who miss up to six weeks of the school year due to "school related" events. I thought this problem might be unique to my school, but I have discovered, after conversing with teacher friends of mine who teach all over the United States, that it is a problem in high schools everywhere. I'm not talking about absences due to illness or personal issues. I'm talking about absences due to activities run by the schools themselves. 

And the problem has only gotten worse in recent years. Who's at fault? Who's to blame? I'd have to say teachers and administrators. Many teachers and administrators have created a climate where it is perfectly acceptable to pull students from another teacher's class any time they want. Today, for example, I have seven sophomores who are missing the final day of review before tomorrow's AP World History Exam so they can attend a Rangers game. That's right, they're not missing for an educational reason, they are missing for a baseball game.

I wish I could say this is atypical, but it happens all year long and at schools all over the nation. Class time is simply not respected. Many of these teachers pulling kids out are the same ones who say that teaching is a profession that is not respected enough by society. I find this completely hypocritical. They show utter contempt for what happens in my classroom by assuming the student can just "make-up" the missed work. They completely negate the importance of the teacher led instruction. Why, as a teacher, do I even bother crafting lesson plans if the student can just "make it up" later? I might as well just photo-copy a bunch of worksheets for the entire year and just let the students work on their own pace. Why do I even bother showing up?

Some of this, I believe, is due to the rise of online education. Online education can be beneficial in certain situations and in small doses. But now, we have entire degrees, undergraduate and post-graduate, that can be attained completely online. I've seen much of the coursework of online courses and they are often a joke. They completely discount the importance of face to face interaction with an expert. They rule out the importance of dialogue and conversation with other learners in a shared setting. As a result, we've created a situation where teachers are just an appendage, a highly paid baby-sitter. Just post the work and let the students get to it.

So we have Band, Tennis, Golf, Ag, "Academic" Competitions, and a host of other activities taking our kids out of the classroom at will. We have NHS, Special Olympics, Blood Drives, and Field Trips taking our kids out on a weekly basis. Many of these are noble pursuits and worthwhile. But they've been allowed to get out of control. Many events that can be done after school or on weekends have been allowed to fall during school days. These outside events should be integrated into the school calendar in a measured and reasonable way.

It is extremely demoralizing to teachers who actually try to do their job. The problem is endemic and has become a cultural norm. When 50 percent of my advanced placement students have missed over three weeks of instruction due to school related activities, then we have serious problems in our educational system. When you walk into your classroom and find it half empty on a regular basis it becomes really hard to remain motivated to put your all into the instruction. I continue to do so for the students who do show up. But it is a beating when so many are gone and then you have to put in extra time to help those kids make up their work since they were absent.

This is not the kids fault. This falls on the offending teachers. This falls on principals and administrators. This also falls on parents who allow it to happen and never question why their student has missed 24 days of class due to school events. It's not a trivial complaint. It is a problem that goes to the root of our understanding of the value of classroom education. Sure, education is evolving and much is learned outside of the classroom. However, there has to be balance. Right now, the balance is extremely out of whack, not just in Texas...but all over the United States.

So Long to the Hilltop

 

Last week I finished up my regular coursework at Southern Methodist University. I still have a ways to go. Next semester I will be undertaking an Independent Study Course where I will complete my Capstone Project for my Masters Degree in the Humanities. If all goes well I will graduate in December 2016, although I would like to walk in the May 2017 ceremonies. There's a little more pomp and circumstance in May and after all these years I would like to enjoy it a bit. 

I ended up with a 3.9 GPA. I got one B+ during my first year in the program...an 88...that kept me from a perfect 4.0. Yeah, one of those kind of professors, you know the type. I will miss making the weekly trip to The Hilltop. I had a great experience and made quite a few friends. The professors were excellent. Although I am relieved to be rounding third and heading home, I am a bit sad that I won't be on campus as much. 

I know, I know...a doctorate. Could be in the cards. Right now I need a break. But who knows? Give me a year or two and a doctorate could be awfully tempting.

Goodbyes

 

This past Saturday I drove up to Oklahoma City to pay my final respects and say goodbye to my old friend Darren Currin. The weight of his tragic loss was heavy upon me as I made the drive up. It was good to see some old friends. I wish we had been re-united by different circumstances. Some of these guys I had not seen in fifteen years. We get so busy in our lives and I regret not doing a better job keeping up with them. I hope to amend that in the years to come. I wish it didn't take a funeral for us not to take each other for granted. But we shared memories of Dar and had a nice time reminiscing. I wish Darren could have been there. 

Dar

This morning I was proctoring an Advanced Placement exam when I received news that one of my oldest friends had died suddenly and unexpectedly. Darren Currin (pictured left), was one of the first friends I made in college. We served on the university Newspaper and Yearbook staffs together. We became fast friends and were roommates our sophomore year of college. We were in each others weddings. He died of a heart attack last night at age 42. He is survived by his wife and twelve-year-old daughter.

Today has been a shock. I sat in stunned silence as those students continued to work on their A.P. exams. I just couldn't believe the news. We hadn't seen each other in a long time. We always promised that we would get together the next time were in town. But stuff, stupid stuff, always came up. We stayed in contact via social media and texts. But I should have made an effort to see him and his wonderful family more often.

He was one of the nicest guys I ever met. Seriously. He would do anything for you. He let me stay two weeks on a couch at his apartment after I returned from the United States after a year abroad. He helped me move a couple of times including my last big move, my move to Texas nineteen years ago. He would do anything for you. I can't believe he's gone.

He was a huge Sci-Fi fan. He probably would think it was a bit of sad irony to leave earth on May the Fourth, Star Wars day. He was a great writer. He worked as a columnist at various news outlets including the Metro Journal and the Journal Record in Oklahoma City. He became a leading real estate journalist in the state of Oklahoma. He also was a spiritual man. He wrote content for a large church in the OKC area. He often copy-edited my stuff back in college. Man, there's so much I could write, so many stories. Our senior  year we were suite mates in an upperclassmen dorm and pulled off a lot off practical jokes together. He was a great accountability partner. He never judged. He was always there for you.

I am a bit numb this afternoon. Darren is gone far too soon. I just can't fathom him being gone. He was a great man and a great husband and father. I feel so awful for his wife and daughter. I don't mean this to be trite, I mean this with all honesty...this world would be a hell of a lot better place if we had more people with the compassionate heart of Darren Currin. Rest in peace my friend.

A NASA Kind of Mood

I've been in a NASA kind of mood lately. I think it started with seeing the movie Gravity at the IMAX a couple of years a ago. Then Interstellar came out and blew my mind. FOX brought back Cosmos with Neil DeGrasse Tyson. The Martian was excellent. I think these movies and shows rekindled my interest in all things space related. I always loved NASA stuff as a kid. I had a big NASA poster on my wall and a model Space Shuttle growing up. I even had a pretty sophisticated and thorough manual on how to fly the Shuttle. But as I grew up and realized my strengths and interests didn't lie in Math or STEM, I kind of let that phase pass. I focused on studying the Liberal Arts and Humanities. I still loved the big ideas of science, but the technicalities were beyond my skill set.

Then these movies and shows got me back into it. So I started looking at more than fiction. I began reading up on the recent expeditions to Mars such as NASA and JPL successfully landing a rover the size of a MINI Cooper on the surface of Mars. Space X and Virgin Galactic are doing incredible things. Space X just successfully landed a reusable rocket on a drone barge in the middle of the ocean. Crazy stuff!

Being in the space mood, we traveled down to Houston over Spring Break to visit the Johnson Space Center, among other sights. The Space Center is a pretty cool place. My nine-year-old son loved it, as did I. We saw the original Mission Control center that guided the Apollo missions. We saw massive rockets and amazing interactive exhibits. It was a pretty cool trip. My son is really big into all this science and engineering and already says he wants to be a rocket or robotics engineer. I remember feeling the same thing at his age, only difference is he actually enjoys doing science and math homework.

So this summer we're going to continue the theme and take him down to Cape Canaveral, Florida. We're going to spend a few days at Cocoa Beach and tour the Kennedy Space Center which is even more massive than Space Center Houston. I visited Cocoa Beach and toured Kennedy when I was in eighth grade and had a blast. My son can't wait. We're going to visit other places in Florida as well, but for my son, Cape Canaveral will be the number one attraction.

Earth Day 2016

Prince

The Omni Hotel in downtown Dallas honors Prince last night.

I wasn't a massively huge Prince fan. I owned a couple of his albums but I didn't actively follow his career. I did really dig some of his stuff. Some of it was amazing. But much of his work just wasn't my style. His flamboyant creativity often overshadowed his brilliant guitar playing. He was one of the most innovative and skillful guitar soloists ever. He had an intuitive sense on how to take a song in new and unexpected directions. Brilliant and weird guy. I wish more of our modern pop artists were as daring and creative. Here are two examples of Prince's guitar solos that blew my mind...

The first video is from Coachella 2008. He's covering Radiohead's Creep. This song is a Holy Grail song for me. This song was extremely important to me in the early 1990's and the thought that someone would dare cover it seemed almost sacrilegious. But Prince respects the song yet takes it and makes it his own. The guitar solo work is crazy good...



The second song comes from a 2005 tribute to George Harrison at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. George Harrison's While My Guitar Gently Weeps. This band features a lineup of legends: Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne and others. Prince was given the solo originally played by Eric Clapton and he rips it apart. Even in a band made of legends, he stands out. So yeah, he was flamboyant, strange, crazy and sometimes profane. But the guy could play and could play hard. He will be missed.

Bout Time

I am thrilled to see Harriet Tubman will be honored on American currency. She was a hero of great courage and moral conscience. It is also wonderful to finally see a woman represented on American money. Not to mention that it is fantastic to see an African-American represented on our currency. This is a great move on so many accounts. There is nothing bad to say about this change except this...

They are still keeping Andrew Johnson's image on the $20 bill albeit in a different form and on the back side of the bill.

He should be removed entirely.

No one on American currency is perfect. But who are you going to replace? Washington? Lincoln? Franklin? Hamilton? Grant might be debatable since he did oversee one of the most corrupt and scandalous White House administrations in history. However...

Andrew Jackson? Not really a debate.

In no particular order...

Andrew Jackson was against paper money. He was a strict adherent to the gold standard and made it illegal for people to use currency to buy federal lands. Only gold or silver coins could be used which caused the Great Panic of 1857 and led our nation into its worst economic depression until the 1930's. He was against the idea of a national bank. To have his image on currency has long been a ridiculous joke.

He murdered a guy in a duel.

As a general he illegally declared martial law in New Orleans and had federal judges arrested. He suspended due process and shut down all opposition newspapers. Hundreds arrested with no due process.

He owned hundreds of slaves. He was virulently against abolition.

He broke federal law as a land speculator by buying and selling Indian land already protected by Federal treaty.

He forcibly removed thousands of Indians out of Georgia, against their will, in an act of ethnic cleansing. He did this to make room for many more plantations worked by thousands of slaves.

He summarily executed prisoners of war during the Creek Indian Wars.

The list goes on and on. How this guy was ever honored on our currency is beyond me. This is not liberal propaganda. This is simply the truth, the facts...facts that Jackson was proud of and wrote about freely.

So yes, I wish Jackson was off our currency for good. And it was way past time for a woman and African-American be so honored.

The only people that seem to be upset by this change are white males. Hmmmmm. 

Duolingo

Things I try to do everyday:

Use the Duolingo app to study Spanish. Five minutes a day. Amazing little app. Available for lots of languages. 

Ladies Man

My son was super embarrassed to have to take this photo with members of the High School's Drill Team who were greeting kids as they came to school Friday. He looks pretty cool and collected in the pic but he's a pretty shy guy and this caught him off guard. 

Baseball Baseball Baseball

 

It's baseball all the time for us now. Practice twice a week. Often games twice a week. That's four nights a week of our lives taken by baseball...and we are not even on a tournament or select team! Not too happy with our league. We have several games that start at 8:00 pm on school nights. That means wrapping things up around 10:00 pm...for nine year olds...on school nights!

Youth league sports have gotten ridiculous. Jackson loves playing the game. Loves getting dirty on slides. Loves playing ball. He's progressing very nicely. He has a good coach and a good set of teammates. We like his team. But the overall culture places a lot of pressure on these kids. We have friends on select teams and the burden they put on these kids are terrible. 

People wonder why so many kids burn out or why there are so many Tommy John Surgeries these days. We are over-working these kids and most of them, the vast majority, will not play any sort of pro ball. A few might get lucky to get scholarships for college. But this should be about fun. It should be about building teamwork and social skills. It should be about exercise and fitness. It should be about learning the game and good sportsmanship. But now it's mostly about obsessive adults, living out their failed dreams vicariously through eight and nine year olds. And it only gets worse as the kids get older.  

The White Album

I've been talking all this spring about the amazing number of new releases coming out from my favorite bands. Since January; Gungor, Chris Isaak, M. Ward, Brazzaville and now Weezer have dropped new tracks. Radiohead and Local Natives are also slated to release records soon. It has been a great year for music, at least for me. My faves don't usually all line up their releases at the same time.

April 1st, Weezer released The White Album. No April Fool's Joke. It's good stuff. The sound is very similar to last year's excellent Everything Will Be Alright in the End. Guess it should go without saying it's not on the Blue or Pinkerton level...but probably nothing ever will be and I've accepted that. Still, these most recent two albums have been their best in years. I've got a few tiers when it comes to Weezer albums...starting at the top...

The Incomparable Work of Genius: The Blue Album.

The Classic and Amazing (but not quite as good as Blue): Pinkerton

Really Great Stuff: Green, Maladroit

Excellent: EWBAE and White

Very Good: Red, Make Believe

I dig it even though I'm embarrassed to admit it and would never say so to hardcore Weezer fans: Raditude

Meh. Some good, some meh, mostly meh and some lame: Hurley, Death to False Metal

So yeah, I'd put The White Album somewhere in the middle. I particularly like King of the World and Endless Bummer. If you put the best one or two songs from each of their last five or six releases you'd have one super great album. Unfortunately  too much of their stuff is hit or miss lately. But White really holds up pretty much all the way through. I dig it.

SMU Nights

Going to miss these beautiful nights on The Hilltop. 

Critique

So, I'm going to brag a bit. Annoying Parent Alert. My son is a voracious reader. He can't stop. He's about to come in first in his school (out of 400 students) in Accelerated Reader Points for the third straight year. He's a third grader reading on a sixth grade level. 

He just started the Harry Potter series. Before that he wrapped up John Grisham's series for kids about a kid lawyer. Since he had read the book via a library loan from Amazon he posted (screenshot above) a review (under my account). His first review and all his own words. 

America is Great!

Trump is wrong. Dead wrong. Any country where you can find Arby's at Walmart don't need fixin'. America is already great! 

Let Church Bells Ring

I know this is a little late. But we had a very nice Easter weekend. We had Good Friday off and went to our church to walk through the Stations of the Cross. I had never done this before and it was very moving. 

I spent Saturday trying to resurrect our lawn with forty yards of St. Augustine sod. Sunday was very nice. The service was powerful and lunch afterwards with the family was good. A nice quiet Easter. 

Timex

One of the birthday presents I received this past week was a watch: a Timex Expedition Indiglo with a brown leather band. Actually picked it out myself from the local Target. Listen, Timex isn't fancy. But they are tough and they get the job done. Some of my more expensive watches have proven too delicate for every day living. I'm getting too old for pretense. Just give me something that's tough and lasts. 

NCAA's

And I guess I should post my bracket since the tournament starts today. I got OU winning it all. 

2016

I know I said I wouldn't get political on the blog. But I was watching an interview with Trump yesterday and I finally had enough. I realized I wanted to go on record, public record, to say that Trump is unacceptable. He is unacceptable in every way. He is a sham of a businessman. He is unethical. He is racist, misogynst and a shameless liar. He incites violence. He has no class. He may not be another Hitler but he could be a Mussolini. 

So here are my thoughts on the other remaining candidates (all of whom, however ridiculous, I would vote over Trump):

Ted Cruz: Unacceptable extremist who is even disliked by his fellow Republicans. Plus he lies. Shady "wacko-bird" and a demogogue. 

Marco Rubio: Weasel, not ready for prime time. Bails on people so much that his fellow Floridian Republicans are openly rooting for him to lose his home state. I don't think even he knows what he believes. Was once a Mormon, now a Catholic who attends a Baptist church. 

Hillary Clinton: Untrustworthy. Hides the truth. Cuts ethical corners. Shady. 

Bernie Sanders: Too old. Too far to the left to ever gain consensus. 

So, that leaves the one guy I could possibly endorse: John Kasich. He's not the perfect candidate but he shines much brighter than the ilk surrounding him. He's a moderate conservative with experience  who demonstrates the gravitas of a president. Perfect or not (and there's no such thing as a perfect candidate) he's the guy I'm supporting now. He has a tough road ahead. Must win Ohio tonight. And must hope for a brokered convention. But stranger things have happened. No question, Kasich has to be the guy. 

The Middle Ages

Last night we met up with Kim's cousin and her family at MEDIEVAL TIMES DINNER AND TOURNAMENT. This was Jackson's first visit to the castle and oh my gosh it was one of the greatest moments of his life. 

Halfway through the joust I saw this crazed look in his eye. All was glorious! Falconry! Villains from the northlands! Sword fighting and eating with your hands! He even wants the soundtrack to the accompanying music. Even our knight not winning was no matter for concern. I think he may have enjoyed this more than NASA. 

Night

More music! One of my all time faves, Chris Isaak, released First Comes the Night a few months back. But I forgot about it. Downloaded it a few days ago and it's been on heavy rotation ever since. Saw Isaak at the Dallas House of Blues a while back. Great show and great performer. Good album. 

NASA

We decided this year against a grand Spring Break vacation. But that doesn't mean we can't have fun. So we got into the Durango and drove down to Houston for one night. We didn't tell Jackson our plans. All was a surprise. 

We spent the evening at the Kemah Boardwalk walking by the Gulf of Mexico and eating in a big aquarium next to really big fish and eels. We rode a little train and looked at the amusement park rides. We rode a ferry across to our parking lot then went to bed. 

The next day was why we came. NASA. We went to the Johnson Space Center. We saw the original Mission Control restored to its 1960's glory with all the original equipment. We saw the biggest rocket on earth, meant for Apollo 18 which was scrapped due to budget costs. Spent the whole day doing awesome space stuff. Then we drove home. Cool day. 

More Rain

The year of the aligning of the musical planets keeps rollin'. M Ward released his latest this morning. First thing I did today was to download More Rain.

If I could play the guitar like one guy or sound like one guy when I sing it would be to sound like M Ward. He's got a wall of sound that on every listen opens up new artistic discoveries. Is he folk? Is he rock? Is he blues? Yes. To all.

The Musical Planets

A few weeks ago I noted that this was going to be a most excellent year for music. In an election year full of mud-slinging, lies and noise we will need all the music we can get. Most of my favorite bands are releasing new albums this year. That's a strange thing since many of these groups only release music every few years. It's like the aligning of the musical planets.

Today it was Brazzaville. I discovered Brazzaville in the early 2000's. I've blogged about them many times. They are from Los Angeles, now based in Barcelona with their biggest following in Russia.

So this morning I grabbed my phone, opened the iTunes app, downloaded the album and listened to it via bluetooth over my truck's sound system on the way to work. People take technology for granted. I don't. I'm still amazed that I don't have to order their CD over the internet since you couldn't find Brazzaville in the major record stores (most of which don't exist any more) and have to wait a week or so before it arrived in your mailbox. It took me less than a minute to get their album and I still find that amazing.

Their new album is called The Oceans of Ganymede. I've only been able to listen to the first few songs. But of course it's great stuff. These guys don't disappoint. It's a Brazza kind of day.

Urge You On...

So I had the great privilege last night of meeting one of my literary heroes. Dave Eggers was the keynote speaker at the Highland Park Literary Festival and I got there early enough to actually meet him and get a book signed. He was very gracious with his time and we talked for a few minutes about the challenges of teaching in low income areas.

Not only is Eggers a hugely successful author...two of his books are being adapted to the big screen this year, both starring Tom Hanks no less...he runs an independent publishing agency, has founded several non-profit charity organizations, edits a literary journal, and produced documentaries among many other activities. He also is a huge advocate for teachers. He established a non-profit tutoring center in San Francisco for under-resourced kids. His tutoring centers have branched off to many cities. He has spoken out for public education time and time again. He is one of my inspirations on many levels. His TED Talk gives you an idea of his work on the behalf of educators. But he also knows how to write a good yarn.

So I was humbled to actually shake his hand and talk with him even for just a few minutes. The festival was held at my old stomping grounds, Highland Park High School...where I taught World History long ago. Last night was the first time I had been back on campus in ten years and I took the chance to swing by my old room. It was good to see that things hadn't changed all that much.

What he wrote in my book: "To Dave, I salute your work, sir. I urge you on."

Zen

Zen Construction Update: In the cacophony of construction, in the twisted metal of mankind's progress, a cardinal finds solace in the chaos of mud and steel. 

Plotting

Just sitting at a French Cafe plotting the overthrow of the Second Estate. Or probably discussing Pokemon. 

Engaged

This photo appears in the new brouchure they're giving to our district's eighth graders about high school classes they can enroll in next year as freshmen. Look how engaged my freshmen are in World History! Every parent who sees this will demand their kid gets in my class. I'll probably have 200 students next year! Waiting lists!

This photo was totally staged. 

To China...

No joke, right outside my classroom window they are digging holes 53 feet deep into the Earth. That's over five stories into Terra Firma. Then they pour the concrete. 

Monk

Black History Month Continued. Thelonious Monk. The Mad Genius. You listen to his music and you start to see life in a different way.

Lose Your Head

My classes just recently wrapped up our studies of the French Revolution. One day I mentioned in passing that street vendors in Paris in the 1790's actually sold miniature guillotines during the height of the Reign of Terror. A few days later one of my students gifted me with a mini guillotine of my own. Said it had been laying around his house for years and his parents wanted rid of it. So he gave it to me. Awesome! It now holds a place of honor next to my miniature Ark of the Covenant.  

TEN YEARS!

Photo: This is the first photo that was ever posted on The Internet Lounge back in 2006. That's me in Mexico a long time ago. 

Today is the tenth anniversary of this blog. Wow. Can't believe I've been subjecting the internet to my nonsense for that long. Actually, Dave's Internet Lounge began as a Geocities website a few years before that. But I switched over to the Blogger platform in February of 2006 and the site became an actual blog. The word blog back then sounded very cool. Blogs were new and very fashionable. Now, everyone has a blog and the word is just a normal part of our vocabulary.

Things have changed quite a bit in ten years. I wasn't a Dad yet. Neither the iPhone or the iPad were invented yet. Smartphones didn't really exist. Facebook was new and Twitter was still a few months from launching when I published my first post.

I really keep this blog up for me. I appreciate my few readers but I keep this thing going to help force myself to write even when I don't really feel like it. I don't spend much time editing or planning my posts so they are often pretty rough. My posts have gotten shorter as I've gotten busier. And I try to be less political then back in the day on the Internet Lounge. I discovered that, quite surprisingly, people aren't really all that swayed by my blog posts when it comes to politics. I decided not to be another shouting voice in the void. The temptation still exists. Just this week I published and then subsequently deleted a post about G.O.P. obstructionism in replacing Scalia on the Supreme Court. But then I realized I was just adding to the noise.

So there's never really been a consistent theme on this blog. It really is, as my caption says, just various thoughts and ramblings that make their way into my brain. So thanks for stopping by every once in awhile. Maybe we'll be around for another ten years.

THIS is the first post that ever appeared on the lounge back in '06.

Birthday

It's my wife's birthday today. I'm one lucky dude. Met her back in 1993 on a bus we were traveling on while doing promotions for our university's music department. Took me several years to convince her that I was worth her time. But by 1997 I had worn her down and she agreed to marry me. I have been blessed to have her in my life.

Liturgy

So last night I attended my first Ash Wednesday Service. I'm sure I've been to church on Ash Wednesday before, but never to a service expressly dedicated to the receiving of ashes. I found the service very refreshing and relevant. The community recitation of a Church Confessional from the Methodist Hymnal was particularly moving.

We've now been attending a Methodist Church for six weeks and have found that I really enjoy the liturgy of our church services. I realize that every Methodist congregation may go about liturgy in different ways. I also know that even though my Nazarene experience did not usually include a lot of liturgy I do know that many Nazarene churches in recent years have begun to incorporate more traditional elements into their services.

I think this may be a reaction to the casual big screen format of many contemporary worship services of modern mega churches. These modern services can be quite moving. I've attended these type of churches over the years and even though there were times of great emotion I often found myself wanting more after awhile. I wanted something with more spiritual heft, something deeper. I think a lot of Gen X Christians are searching for authenticity and a connection with the historic church. For many who grew up in the casual worship styles of the 80's and 90's, liturgy provides an element of mysticism that is sometimes lacking in Praise and Worship services. P&W services can be very emotional but sometimes they lack spiritual depth.

Now, obviously this is coming from the perspective of someone who grew up outside of high church liturgy. I'm sure for many born and bred in it some of these rituals can be just that...rituals. Maybe after I've been a part of this style of worship for awhile my attitudes may change. I doubt it, but I realize it's possible. The church we're currently attending does sing a modern song each Sunday along with a traditional Methodist hymn. But the worship director has done an excellent job of using songs that complement each other rather than an artificial mashing up of old and new just to appease different demographics.

So far, our new church has walked a very nice line of feeling casual and modern yet incorporating traditional liturgy in ways I find inspiring. Right now I am enjoying the recitation of the Apostle's Creed, the Lord's Prayer, singing the Doxology and Gloria Patri. The acolytes coming in with their candles at the beginning and extinguishing them at the end of the service gives real poignancy and power to the moment. Communion every Sunday has had greater emotional impact for me than singing lots of rousing choruses over and over and over again. Personal preference I guess.

I'm going to enjoy this liturgy as long as I can. I hope it continues to move me. I feel a greater connection to my historic Christian for-bearers. As someone who traditionally has drifted towards rationality and dry intellectual spirituality, I find myself drawn to these mystical elements of the Christian faith. They have led to a revival of my spirit after a rough time and I am embracing them fully.

Wynton

Wynton Marsalis. You want to study Black History? Or American History? Or Human History. Marsalis will teach you through jazz. 

Trane

Black History Month. Coltrane. A Love Supreme. Out of this world.

Bird

First day of Black History Month. Throughout this month I would like to recognize contributions from African-Americans in history who have inspired me and influenced my thinking. 

Kicking off with Charlie Parker. Bird. From Kansas City. Definitely on the Mount Rushmore of Jazz with Louis, Duke and Trane. Check out some of his stuff...

Kansas Day!

Man, I'm always a day behind. Happy belated Kansas Day y'all. 155 years man. You don't look a day over 100. Hope yesterday was great!

Where were you?

Yesterday was the thirtieth anniversary of the Challenger explosion. For my generation that would be a moment we would forever remember exactly where we were when it happened. It was similar to previous generations knowing where they were when Pearl Harbor was attacked or when JFK was shot or more recently, the September 11th attacks.

I was in 7th grade band. Our principal, Mr. Rockledge, came on the intercom to tell us the news about the loss of the Challenger and the seven crew members aboard. His voice was breaking as he talked. After he was done there was stunned silence in the room. It was hard to comprehend.

My current students do not have a similar moment to point to where a whole generation can remember where they were when something happened. My students were, at the oldest, toddlers when the September 11 attacks occurred. My freshmen weren't even born yet. This is a good thing. These events are easily remembered because they are tragic and shocking. It's harder to remember where you were on a generational level when good events happen. For some reason it's easier to remember the bad stuff. That was a very sad day.

Utah Again

Finally received my invite this morning to the AP World History Grading this June. AP World History teachers around the nation were getting a bit anxious because this is the latest they've been sent out. Last year it was January 22nd which was the latest ever. This year even later. All the other subjects had received theirs two weeks ago.When the hundreds of emails finally hit the inboxes there was a collective sigh of relief this morning around 10 am. Lots of texts and facebook messages going back and forth to confirm that friends would see each other once again this summer. It's kind of like summer camp actually.

I will be a Table Leader again this year. Guess I didn't mess up things too badly last year on my first go around as a TL. Being a TL means you have to go three days earlier than the rest of the graders. But the pay increase is substantial and makes it worth it. I was nervous going into it last year, teachers can be hard to handle believe it or not. But this year I'm feeling good about it.

This will be my ninth year to grade. Four summers in Ft. Collins, Colorado and five in Salt Lake City. I'm also very happy to finally fly out of Love Field again. Since they moved the grading to Salt Lake I've had to fly out of DFW. But with all the Wright Amendment restrictions finally gone, Southwest Airlines can fly direct out of Dallas to Salt Lake City from Love Field. And Love Field is so much better than DFW in almost every way. Much smaller, much less chaotic, lots less traffic and it's 20 minutes closer to us than DFW. I've missed flying out of there right over the tips of the downtown Dallas skyscrapers.

My memories of last year's grading are bittersweet. The day I arrived in SLC last year my father had to be rushed to the hospital. I found out later that he looked so bad those first few days that my wife almost had me return to Dallas immediately. I had some difficult conversations with my worried uncles about Dad's future and his health loomed large over my stay in Salt Lake. I really wanted to head back home but they all assured me he was making slow and steady progress. He came through that particular bout and was back home about a day before I returned to Texas, eight days he spent in the hospital. I was gone ten days.

Well, that wouldn't be the last hospital day of that difficult summer and fall. He'd actually have to go back a couple of more times for week long stays. And he didn't get better. And he would pass away in September. I'm sure I'll be thinking of him quite often during my time in Utah.