What is there to say?

With all that is happening due to Katrina, it is impossible to come up with anything remotely amusing or interesting to add to the Tres Hombres blog. That time will come again, but for now, it's hard to make fun of stuff or talk about other things seriously.

My thoughts always turn towards "perspective" during times like this, and about how lucky many of us are. This is not a profound, original, or unique thought. But it is where I am: I've known how lucky I've had it for years, despite my own tendency to fall into woe-is-me territory. Even during those moments, I like to think that I know how great I have it.

A Tsunami with a few hundred thousand lost, a stampede in Iraq with a thousand lost, a hurricane that destroys lives, homes, topography, and life savings. I will not complain today about some debt while I sit comfortably in my Chicago condo typing into my fully functional computer.

I commuted through the World Trade Center the day it was bombed in 1992, and I could see where it fell from my home in New Jersey in 2001. Our good friend Kevlar's wife's family survived Hurricane Andrew in Florida in 1992 (and that's no small story). Betsy has a story. I'm pretty sure that our own Vinnissimo got through a storm when he lived in Miami.

We've all got a story. Every one of us.

Not doing too badly today, right here, right now.

Items and Thoughts for a Monday Morning

1) Yet another NYTimes link, and yet another editorial about Intelligent Design. I gotta say, this guy has me on the side of the scientists in regards to what should be taught in school. Some fascinating stuff in here. That said, I still don't see why we can't all get along.

2) Speaking of which, why, if I believe in good will towards all people, including those from other countries, does that make me unpatriotic? Why do things need to boil down to some "America first" idea? Doesn't that intrinsicly set us up to oppress and discriminate on the basis of our nationality? Wouldn't it be better to look for the greatest good, and let the patriotism take care of itself? Political pundits will talk about America-hating liberals, but I think that misses the point. I don't hate America, I just don't hate anyone else. There's a difference. I don't have a link. I just hear stuff about his all the time.

3) I saw Mary J. Blige live video on some cable channel this weekend, and I've decided...15 years late...that she is absolutely, whithout question, the real deal. The clip is here...go to "Children of the Ghetto". (You need Real Player and a high speed connection.) Don't get better than this. God, what a great band, too.

4) I saw a clip of Mariah Carey on the VMA's last night, and I'm thinking...wha, huh, how? First of all, her new single is great. She's still the real deal in the vox dept and she can write a tune. She's not prolific or vital as a songwriter, but I don't demand that of pop singers. Her performance of her new tune was a "remix", which means it was sped up and changed, and this was not for the better. She lost all her groove and the lyrics were forced. Too bad. She's relying on tricks when she should rely on her talent. In a similar veign, her silly looking boobs were so huge that I thought she was going to float away. She doesn't need that. Just sing and we'll all be happy, because she's good enough without looking ridiculous. I take her less seriously because of how she looks, which is too bad because she's good.

5) Good luck to everyone down south this morning. Scary stuff.

6) I'm writing like Larry King.

7) After writing all of this, I'm most interested in how good the Mary J. Blige clip is.

Supply and demand

I received two different chain-letter-style emails about the price of gas today. They were both completely idiotic.

#1. A petition.
The first was a petition that we're all supposed to sign and forward. Riiiiight. That's always on the up and up. The petition is intended to go to the president so that he will do something about gas prices. Something like, um, what, exactly? Issue an executive order mandating that gas can't be more than $2.60 a gallon? While he's at it, can he issue some sort of executive fiat in which Rubio's fish tacos go on sale too? I like those. I also like free markets, and they occassionally lead to things like price run-ups. The best part about the petition was that it was forwarded to me by a friend of mine who drives a Lincoln Navigator, which is generously rated at 13mpg last I checked.

#2. A boycott.
This defies all good sense. Apparently, we're all supposed to "teach OPEC a lesson" by boycotting gas stations on September 1. Here's the obvious problem with that: we'll all go back on September 2, because I don't think we have any non-gasoline options for our cars. For instance, I don't think any of us can say "screw OPEC!" by throwing a Duraflame log in the tank and driving around all day. Last I checked, boycotts were effective when one could take one's business elsewhere. So, by boycotting the nation's gas vendors, we'll turn to...um...coal? I don't think anyone at OPEC will be quaking in their boots because we just might stop using gas, because we won't.

It seems quite obvious: there is a limited supply and growing demand. Even if we all switch from Hummers to Priuses (what the heck is the plural of Prius?), China's oil imports grew by something like 35% last year, so global demand is going up pretty much no matter what. Things would certainly be better if we curbed our ravenous thirst for gasoline here in the states, but let's be honest: it ain't going to get better by boycotts or executive fiat.

Houses are expensive too. Can we do something about that? I've got it - we'll all just boycott houses and live outdoors!

And, As Your Mayor

I will disallow small planes from flying over the lakefront trailing huge...and I mean HUGE...advertisements for Fox television shows. I remember back in the day when a plane would fly waaaaay up high and trail a simple message in reasonable-sized red letters. Small, nifty "happy anniversary" messages, or something like "flea market today". But no more. Now, I look out my window, for which I paid plenty because it looks at the lake on one side and looks unobstructed west on the other side...and I more and more frequently am subjected to ungodly large advertisements for TV. Which is unnecessary, because I'm ALREADY WATCHING TV. Usually. Anyway, as you mayor, this will stop. The current mayor, as I have ranted about for a few years, literally ripped up a Chicago airport on a Sunday night after midnight and used the threat of terrorism as his justification. Well. Now we have concerts where the airport used to be, and I see plenty of Cessnas out the window providing advertising to all those who have no choice but to look at it.

This isn't much of a 4th tier for my candidacy...it won't really help anyone and doesn't do much. So I'm not making it an official part of my platform. But it's still something that I'll do.

Deflect This

I can't claim originality here...but hey, it's a new post before the weekend so it's what I got.

Some nifty cutouts that can be used for political, social, emotional, and artistic conversations. Found this link on Bob Mould's blog, which is a regular destination for me.

Oh yeah, for those of you who remember my letter to Bob (posted on The B**** Blog), apparently he didn't get the letter because I never heard back, and his tour is about to start. Can't figure out why else a mid-level but cult-status rock star wouldn't want to reply to an email comparing him to Coltrane and asking him to hire a psychology grad student as his drummer. Yeah. He just didn't get the letter. I'll send another. That'll work, right?

Bonehead

I know that I said I was too busy to post again this week, but this was just too much for me to pass up.

Last I checked, we weren't at war with Venezuela. Are we at war with Venezuela and I missed it? Wait, let me check Google...nope, we're not at war with Venezuela. That's what I thought.

It appears that Mr. Robertson's head is comprised entirely of bone.

God, Science, Anarchists, Terrorists

No, the four words in this post's title don't go together. They are, however, subject matter for two interesting and entirely unrelated articles:

1. This one from the NY Times dovetails nicely with some of our recent back and forth regarding evolution, intelligent design, and religion.

2. This article is from the current print edition of The Economist. It's not the sort of article you'd be likely to find anywhere else, as it draws parallels between today's terrorists and yesterday's anarchists, which ain't exactly USA Today material. ("Here's a pie chart on terrorism: 98% of Americans are opposed to terrorism and 2% say they 'don't know' how they feel about it".) I can't comment intelligently regarding how insightful the analysis is, as I'm not much of an expert on European anarchists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but it's interesting stuff.

And that'll likely do it for my postings for a few days. I'm going to be quite busy through Sunday, so talk amongst yourselves.

Robert Moog, Musical Pioneer

Robert Moog, one of the great innovators of electronic music, has passed away.

It's rather interesting that he was the developer of an instrument rather than a composer or a performer and achieved tremendous (and much deserved) name recognition. His fame came less from the more traditional oeuvre one finds in a noteworthy composer and more from the sheer brilliance of his design and, arguably, the interface he created.

I think that there's something interesting about Moog that harkens back to the sort of fame generated by someone like Antonio Stradivari. (For those of you turning purple at the comparison, please note that I am not equating the historical significance of the two men and their output. Just let me try to explain.) Instrument makers do not commonly achieve fame for their work, not at least on the level one finds with Stradivari. Moog achieved something like that, although his work obviously has not stood the test of time that Stradivari's has and it's certainly - and probably convincingly - arguable that Moog's instruments have already been bypassed in a way that Stradivari's never have. So admittedly, it ain't like we're comparing apples and apples here. Still, there's something unique in Moog's legacy that just doesn't exist with other instrument makers. Does Leo Fender deserve that level of recognition? That's an interesting question I just thought of as I'm typing this. I'll have to ponder that...

Now that I ponder it more, who are some of the great instrument designers of the last 100 years? (This is sort of a "wondering out loud" list that I'm not necessarily ready to defend; a highly subjective and admittedly limited list of possibilities.)

Leo Fender
Les Paul
Steve Wozniak

I'm blanking beyond this, mostly because all four (Moog, Fender, Paul, and Woz) are pretty interesting discussions. Let's acknowledge that we're not equating any with Stradivari or the other great makers of Cremona and then puzzle over a few.

I've talked about Moog. Fender is a fascinating guy and obviously a brilliant mind. The Stratocaster - invented in 1954! - is arguably the most common and copied electric guitar design of all time. Les Paul is the great 20th century musical renaissance man: a brilliant player, a legendary guitar designer, and an inventor and innovator of multitrack recording.

Woz is a controversial pick, but a fun debate. The personal computer has revolutionized music in ways that will play out for many years to come. Woz didn't intend to design an instrument, but we use computers for music in ways that no one would - or could - have foreseen. Does the design of the interface, even if it wasn't designed for musical applications specifically, make one a great instrument designer? If I were to really ponder it thoughtfully - and why start doing that now? - I think that the answer is probably no.

Who else am I forgetting? I'm willing to bet that I've overlooked (either through forgetfulness or ignorance) some important ones. Clearly, these are all great minds and great innovators in their own right.

Retroactive apologies issued to all for what is clearly a music geek post.

Get up, stand up

There's just about nothing better - and funnier - than being a dad.

So I'm having dinner with my sons. Dinner is tasty, I've got a glass of merlot, and "Bob Marley: Legend" is on the CD player. We're having a grand time, grooving to "Three Little Birds", and my oldest son - still in grade school - turns to me and says,

"Dad, are there Wailers in America?"

Somewhat surprised, but impressed by his appreciation and recognition of Bob Marley's band, I reply, "well, I'm not sure how many of them are still alive, but any that are alive probably live in Jamaica".

He's puzzled. "Jamaica?" Silence for a few moments. "Why would they be in Jamaica?"

I was not expecting this, as he is half Jamaican and knows that Bob Marley is from there, so I can't quite sort out why he'd be asking this. Still puzzled, I glance at him and notice his latest book selection on the table next to him: "Moby Dick".

He meant whalers.

If Elected, I Will Serve

I'm running for Mayor of Chicago. I'll do all of my campaigning right here at Tres Hombres. I'll have to work out the incognito identity bit some time before the election, but until that time, I'll present my platform for how I'd run the city.

I have a three-tiered platform. I will do no more and no less than the following three "things".

1. The two-day Air & Water Show, an event that caters to everyone by the mere fact that the entire city is under seige, is held entirely on the north side beaches. Fuck that shit. The north side gets one day, and the neglected south side gets a day. The south side, incredibly and unbelievably neglected in both financial and political ways for, oh, a century and a half or so, deserves a day where everyone heads 10 freaking minutes south to buy lunch and use restaurants and buy gas and does things people do in neighborhoods. Neighborhoods aren't good enough or attractive enough? Well, then, better get to work. Don't blame the victim. Help the victim.

2. Air conditioning in all Chicago Public Schools. All of 'em. Completely. Upgraded. No exceptions. CPS is likely the world's most impossible organization to run. The schools are very old, they are all filled with overworked, underpaid, and likely unapreciated teachers. Good teachers...many of them...go to the suburbs for better pay, and likely, air conditioning. Not sure if I can fix that in a week as your mayor. But what I can do, People, is put in a big fat P.O. to the local air conditioning installer giant, who would love to get to work on making the buildings livable. Here's the thing: attendance is a bigger and bigger issue in CPS schools. Student apathy is a huge problem.

Geez, how much energy would YOU have if you had to sit there on a 95 degree day? As a student OR a teacher? Sorry. No money is no excuse. Plant a few less flowers on the streets (believe me, in Chicago this would save millions), and pay for the A/C. Yes, this will be ridiculously expensive. I have my red pen ready. Give me the budget and I'll be glad to get to work. Don't like what I'd cut? Tough. I'll be the mayor. And as Mayor, schools get A/C.

3. Target and other "Big Box" stores on the south side. Probably the west side, too. Are they ugly? Sure. Is this complicated? Yep. But employees on all the north side stores live on the south and west side. More people in those neglected neighborhoods need jobs. Plus, people in those neighborhoods are HUGE customers of these stores. Developing these neighborhoods with ONE big box store will provide huge numbers of jobs; the money in the neighborhoods will be spent IN the neighborhoods; and before you know it, restaurants and other shops will pop up around the store. Think a Best Buy wouldn't do well down there? Upgraded grocery stores with high end shit? Think again.

How would I do this? Land donations. Tax breaks. Whatever it takes to get the damn things built. Cries of reverse discrimination by north side developers that would suddenly see my very cold shoulder would be met by my very cold shoulder. North side, I say to you, you're doing just fine. You just opened a Target AND a Home Depot on Addison Ave., for crying out loud. There are other locations of those stores right around the corner. A new Target is going up in my neighborhood. Am I happy? Sure. I like buying TP in bulk. But I'm only three miles from another one. How about putting one on 72nd and Ashland? Sorry, white people, but the south side will get some financial benefits that you won't get when I'm Mayor. The South Side is playing from behind, and in my run as Mayor, it's going to get some extra help.

To be sure, this is not a perfect platform. Riddled with flaws, likely. It's probable that many people will point out that a Mayor needs to have more than three ideas, and needs to be willing to have a fourth "thing".

At this point I'm not. Willing, that is. Maybe that will change. But for now, Vote Teodoro if you like those ideas, because I'll make 'em happen, and maybe I'll tear up an airport or two in the process.

An Offensive Waste of....Oh That's Cool

This is the weekend of the annual Air and Water Show here in Chicago. Every year I am appalled at the offensive, arrogant nature of the entire event. A phenomenal waste of fuel (gas is over three bucks a gallon in Chicago), an insulting display of military propaganda, a baffling, arrogant, unthinking need to tie up traffic as 1,000,000 people flock to the lakefront over two days every year. I live on the lakefront, so I see the whole thing, including the practice runs. (I'm not at ground zero, but close enough to feel the combat runs.)

The main attraction this year is the Air Force Thunderbirds. Every other year it's the Thunderbirds, alternating with the Navy's Blue Angels. So every year, for three days (one practice day and two show days), Chicago has to stop what it's doing and be buzzed by supersonic jets flying at 350 mph (OK so they're not going supersonic speed...but they could) at about 60 feet over the buildings. It's freakishly loud.

And as soon as I start to get mad about the ridiculousness of it all, four of the fuckers will fly in formation close enough to my head that it seems like I could touch them, and they're going real real fast, and then I stop and say:

OH, that was unbelievably cool.

Intelligent falling

Those of you who either participated in or simply followed our recent threads on intelligent design may be entertained by this article.

HOLYGOD music geek comment

This post will likely only resonate with my fellow late-80s music school geeks.

I've been listening to Yes "90125" this morning. Why? I have no idea. Haven't listened in years and years and years. It's a lot of fun. Some bits have aged very well...some have aged very poorly. But the nostalgia of it all has made up for the poor parts, for the most part.

But here's a bit that I have figured out, 15-20 years too late. Remember the tune "Hold On". (Hooooold On...Hooooold On....etc.) It's a shuffle tune. Back in the day, we LOVVED this tune, because it had such a cool groove. But here's the thing: the groove sucks. Back in the day, we went to lengths to defend it: "Dude, that beat displacement is SO wicked. That's some serious shit." But it's not seriuos shit. It's bad and stupid. People, they are accenting the MIDDLE eighth-note triplet over and over again. That subdivision is owned only by Elvin Jones. No one else is allowed to even think about using it. It's sarcosanct. And YES, of all people, decided to accent the middle eighth note triplet as a band over and over and over again in that song. MAYBE Bonham could use that triplet. No one else. Everyone else fails.

And back in the day we spent hours and hours and hours trying to master the unapproachable middle eighth-note triplet. And there was Yes, encouraging our folly. If they had just kept a straight shuffle, it would have been much better, and we music geeks would have spent hours trying to groove rather than anti-groove. As such we spent years mastering anti-groove, which demanded years of unlearning and relearning and humiliation on gigs and ultimately sacrifice of our egos to give in to our sexual organs, which knew much more accurately what groove was about and what people want to hear. Sexual organs and dancefloors do not want middle-eighth note triplets. They want to shake that ass, which is how it should be, and which is what they fail to teach in music school.

It's still a fun record to listen to, but don't expect people to shake that ass to Yes. And no one really tries that, but it's why people bash this music, which I now understand and is what I didn't understand in 1987 when I attempted to defend the middle-eighth note triplet. That's a losing debate.

Now there's a tune on in, like, 13. Cool. My ass is stationary. I cannot defend.

Harder to say than "blog"

An interesting article on vlogs (video blogs). Technically, if "blog" is short for "web log", shouldn't a "video web blog" become a "vblog"? I guess that's kind of hard to say. Viblog? Vidblog? Bueller?

Doing My Part

Not sure if he'll get my vote over McCain or Biden, but you gotta love this.

(thanks for the link, Lex)

Too Few Hours In The Day

Just heard a radio interiview with Loung Ung, the author of Lucky Child. The interview was riveting, and the book (and her previous book) looks not only fascinating but vitally important.

Can we split these books up and read them together? Sheesh, who has time for all these great books out there?

Teens and 20s: music. gigs. drinking. rock stars.
30s: academia and reading.
40s: work.
50s: work.
60s: work.
70s: work.
80s: naps and birds.

Hold Your Breath

Settlements in Gaza by Israel has long been one of the political realities of which I have close to zero understanding. When reading about the history, complexity, passion, politics, and violence in the region, I am often more confused after I read an article than beforehand. It's simply too complicated for this sheltered former-suburbanite to really grasp. I'm so far out of that complicated world, I am nothing short of stunned when I read about it.

So this article leaves me feeling both nervous and hopeful. What is happening right now is historic. I'm not sure exactly what all of this means. What I know is that this is likely the most sensitive, fragile political happening of the year (decade? century?), and I will hold my breath and wish/pray for peace for all involved.

It is indeed refreshing to see warring leaders reach out to one another in an attempt to end bloodshed. It is also refreshing and inspirational to see two hard-line politicians change their minds over how to diplomatically deal with the singular conflict of their lives. It's also very scary. The leaders seem to understand that this may not go smoothly, but their words to their people are intelligent, nuanced, and mature. They are not pandering, and they are treating their citizens with respect while asking for unpopular change. And the citizens seem to understand that they need to protest what they must, but also must make concessions for the future good. It's all very frightening, and it's all very hopeful.

Here's hoping that this can be the example the rest of the world can follow.

Careful, People...

Another article worth reading, from the front page of the Chicago Tribune today.

Dog Days, Blog Days, Great Articles Instead

It's the middle of August, and most people don't know what to do with themselves. August is a downtime for many. Everyone I know is in a bit of a funk these days, and I am no exception. The Hombres went a little El Whacko over the past few days as we had our first official three day stretch of Forcing It. We shall persevere. August will end. Our brains and groove will kick in again, as they always do.

In the meantime, for today, I will rely on professionals to provide both hysterical and unbelievably profound thoughts.

From today's New York Times (a must read every Sunday):

One of the most profound essays I've read in quite some time. And what do you know, it's by a guy that just wrote a book, which means my reading pile may get one louder.

And from the same Op-Ed page, a righteously funny essay by Calvin Trillin.

You probably have to register your email address to read these online, but it doesn't cost you to do that. I'm tempted to just keep linking NYTimes articles, because they are far more interesting than what the Hombres have offered lately.

So it goes.

My Great Desire

It's very simple.

I want a cell phone that works, and a cell phone company that is dependable. I've had a cell phone for five years (which is less than most people), and I have never, ever, never ever ever had a good combination.

So I'm trying again. I'm doing this now...a BlackBerry with T-Mobile. Not a fancy BlackBerry. Just one that will do what I need it to do. This combination will attempt to replace the most expensive failure of a device in the entire history of technology . This isn't quite fair of me. I had the Treo 600 and the link is for the 650. But the 600 was riddled with flaws. I literally fixed a persistent, death-laser buzz with scotch tape and tin foil once. Really. I totally did it and it worked for 6 months. Then my McGyver job stopped working. But I'm not lying about the 6 month fix with tin foil.

Anyway, despite my dwindling bank account, I ponied up for one of these ridiculous things. I dunno, I just did it. I mean, I'm so tired of buying a $20 ear bud that stops working after six weeks. So I spent some more with the hopes that this will work. Of course, when it falls out of my car door before I get out of the car, only to be crushed by my boot in the winter, I will not have done much better, will I have? No. I will not have.

And they look ridiculous and make me angry. But then again, so did cell phones. And ear buds. And now those look like normal things to me. So maybe this will be a normal thing? I promise not to wear it while buying fruit at the grocery or while on line at the bank (who stands in line at the bank anymore?) or...you know...wherever other people make me mad when they do it.

No Restraint. Defined.

I am in training at a specific government-run hospital in Chicago. I am training to be in the mental health profession. (I'm being somewhat ambiguous for the same reasons that I call myself Teodoro on this blog.)

I said some of this on my previous blog, but we have some new readers here so I'll share it again: I love love love this new placement. It's an amazing site with incredible supervisors. I learn vast amounts every day, and it's a casual, mature, important place for me to be. It's damn near perfect. The right neighborhood, the right people, and the right vibe. I can see myself settling in here for a good long while if they'll have me (though I have about 3 years of training left...but that's a different topic).

There is one thing, however, that seems to be a constant presence at this site. Something happens just about every day. Something that I've dealt with before, but never at this level. Something of which I am no longer surprised. Something I actually now expect. Something. That. Just. Is.

It is the single most flatulent hospital in the universe. All shapes, sizes, and varieties. All locations. All hours. Open doors, closed doors, hallways, elevators...you name it. Wind 'em up and let 'em rip. No restraint.

They didn't list that in the benefits package.
Doesn't quite fit on my C.V.
I haven't had that class.
Not easy to model alternative behavior. Can you demonstrate NOT doing that? What would I do, just STAND there? (See? Watch. Keep watching. Nothing. See?)

This post'll teach the other two Hombres to go a day without contributing. See what you made me do?

The Guys Get Shirts

Betsy has a post on Paul Anka. As such, please, please, please...go here for the best bit of entertainment you'll have all day. Or maybe all year.

People? Discuss.

A friend sent an interesting article.

As much as I like the idea of a left-winger standing up for his beliefs (well past time for that), I have to say that I think this is poorly done. This is exactly the type of article that disallows any kind of meaningful discussion. It is exactly the type of article that shuts down someone on the right. It is exactly the type of article that keeps the argument going while doing nothing to achieve what we need most: progress.

I think there are better ways to get your point across than this. This article is full of assumptions, generalizations, exaggerations, extremist positions, and intolerance. Yes, the author addresses that. Doesn't make it helpful or constructive, though.

Considering the context of the author's viewpoint, I do understand his frustration and approach. Sometimes, after so much oppression, you've just got to yell. I can't say that I wouldn't be tempted if I was in his shoes. But that doesn't help solve a problem.

We need to be better than that.

Explosive Bestseller

From this week's Onion:

Police Search of Backpack Yields Explosive Bestseller

Naturally, I thought of Teodoro.

Tomorrow Morning

Impulse buy. Cinnamon.

Gonna put some of this on there. Vanilla.

I said got dam. Get down. That's a summer breakfast if I ever had one. It might just end up as dinner, too.

Did Darwin Have Nipples Too?

Why do men have nipples?

oh no oh no oh no oh man oh man oh man this is not looking good....

Just took a prep test for a big fat licensing exam that I'll be taking in October (which, of course, is exactly when I'll be writing midterms). I got a 57% on the practice test. The exam is broken up into 8 sections, one of which yielded the astonishing number of 26% after I completed the test.

26%.
26.
2.6.
That's about a quarter.

So, it's been nice knowing y'all, and I'll be blogging and returning phone calls and answering mail and stuff sometime in late December. Wait, that's the holidays. Talk to you in April.

I think my pile of books just got trumped.

Summer Reading Pile

I need an extra summer to get to these.

Almost done with Shooter by Jack Coughlin and others. It's not terrible, but mis-advertised and not as interesting as I had hoped. I wanted to read the autobiography of a marine sniper because I like understanding the psychology of people in extreme situations, but this book doesn't touch on psychology as much as it should/could. I'm reading about a lot of dying and killing here. Enough. Let's move on.

The pile is too big for the next month, but it's an interesting pile. In no particular order (yet):

- All This Heavenly Glory by Betsy. I'm 6 months late on this, so it's time to read. Then I'll ask her to sign the book. Looking forward to it.
- Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Smart people who think write about things that need to be thought about.
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. A best seller that word-of-mouth has on my radar.
- Blink by Malcolm Gladwell. A psychology professor put this on my radar.
- Alaska by James Michener. My Mom put this on my radar after my trip to the real Pacific northwest earlier this year. A nice idea, but the 1,000 page heft has me wary to crack the book.
- Lying on the Couch by Irivin Yalom. Well-regarded psychology fiction written by a renowned psychologist.
- Flow and Creativity, both by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I've read half of the first and it's freakin' brilliant. It's psychology stuff that addresses "The Psychology of Optimal Experience". Who wouldn't want that?
- The Trial by Franz Kafka. This has been in the pile for over three years. Think I'll ever actually read it?

I have others in the pile, but it's really a second pile. At some point I'm gonna have to move the second pile to a third pile and split up some of the first pile into a second pile.

If only I could read more efficiently while watching TV.

Anonymity Broken?

Could this be us? The Hombres revealed? I'll have to do some research to find out if I'm the drummer.

The Issue of Anonymity

I welcome all, Anonymous or not.

Indeed, I am incognito on this blog. Teodoro Callate? Not my name. That's not news. Some have asked why I zapped my old blog and started a new one without my name. So I'll say a few words about that.

I'd rather have my name posted. I'd rather have my own identity, because I think the posts are more substantive that way. If I say something offensive, I think it's fair that you know who I am so you can call me on my shit. Critical discussion is encouraged, and constructive discourse is more important in 2005 than ever, because I think it's disappearing. My name should be a part of good, constructive discourse.

But because my supervisor Googled me and found my previous blog, he rightly pointed out that this type of personal medium can unnecessarily complicate my profession, which is therapy (I'm in training at a hospital). He was cooler than cool about it. We discussed the issue and I made the decision myself. I kinda knew the issue was there but I selectively ignored it because I was having fun. So now I want to continue to have fun, but I have to be less Googlable. At least where I can control that type of thing.

So we've got a new blog and I'm Teodoro Callate, and then I invited a ton of people, and now there are anonymous posters everywhere. Please don't go away. The blog that the Hombres want to host should be an interactive one. Even if things get heated, that's better than boring. And debate is interesting and worthwhile. The ID post is a great example...I learned stuff about that topic that I didn't know before. Yay for us!

But I really want to encourage all anonymous posters to use a name or a handle or some sort of identification. Otherwise, all anonymous comments fall into the same category of "who's that?". Some bloggers don't allow anonymous posting, and I don't forsee the Hombres doing that: we want to talk with you. And I can't really ask you to use your name (though I'd like that) simply because I, myself, am not using my name.

I'd use my name if I could, and most readers know who I am. And I'm happy to share my identity if there is a way that would keep this blog from coming up in a search for my own bad self. So use your name if you can. If not, then I encourage you to come up with a handle so that we can differentiate one anonymous voice from another.

Intelligent Design

Does anyone know of any good links to this topic while it's hot again in the news today. I'm crazy busy today.

I personally believe in intelligent design.

Vinnissimo

Sweet Toys

I have two kids - who shall remain semi-anonymous in this blog - who love toys. Cool toys. Toys like spaceships, hot wheels, imitation light sabers, and jets.

As I see them vibing on their toys, I am reminded of a number of the super-sweet toys of my youth:

1. Evel Knievel Stunt Bike. Hours and hours spent on the floor with that one.
2. G.I. Joe in Space. My brother had that.
3. Ernie puppet. My mom got this for me. I thought she'd had Ernie killed and brought to me.
4. Super-cool slot cars.
5. Intellivision. Don't get me wrong - I had an Atari 2600, which defined "super-sweet" for a long time - but there's something about the Intellivision that goes a step beyond. Sea Battle? Beyond super-sweet.

What are the super-sweet toys of your youth? Let's define "youth" broadly - let's say between the ages of five and fifteen.

I'm looking for flashbacks here - the kind that remind me of watching Mork and Mindy while wearing my "Tron" tee shirt and planning how I can get my mom to drive me to the mall with my friends so that we can go see "E.T." and then go roller-skating.

Tron rocked.

Knowingly Schmowingly

Since when is "knowingly" a qualifier that gets you off the hook?

Rafael Palmeiro, Mr. I Never Knowingly Took A Steroid. President Bush, Mr. I Believe Rafael Palmeiro Never Knowingly Took A Steroid. Politics and baseball have always had an odd and not-quite-right relationship. And that actually looked like it was about to change for the better, except our Commander in Chief used to own the Texas Rangers, so he feels the need to protect Palmeiro (former Ranger when Bush owned the team) despite the fact that Palmeiro has tested positive for a steroid that is not available in supplements, thereby making the "Knowingly" part of the statement an outright lie. But our Pres believes him.

And this post is not about politics. Really, it isn't. The non-denial denial, the non-apology apology, the use of knowingly...makes me crazy. How many times have we read: "I never knowingly ________. If you were offended, I apologize. I never meant to cause such harm to my friends and family. If you were affected by ________, for that, I apologize."

Makes me nuts. How about: "I was wrong. I take responsibility for my actions, and I will do my very best to both correct and not repeat my mistakes. I apologize for ______, and I ask your forgiveness. I will take the necessary steps to atone for my actions."

That's probably not what I'd say to an individual person. But if I were writing a PR statement, it might look like that. Maybe the word "atone" would freak people out. It could be re-worded, but the point is that you take responsibility and you move on and do your best to be better.

But this "knowingly" qualifier and "if you were offended" have simply got to go. Because "knowingly"'s got nothing to do with it and "if you were offended" is itself offensive. And it's almost always a lie, and it's always responsibility dodged once again.

Simpsons Fans? Music School Geeks? Be sated.

Go here. Really. Something you will like. I can't figure out how to get a better link to what you need to see on this page, but when I open this homepage the clip in question starts automatically and is only a small scroll down the page.

I hope to be back to some semblance of thoughtful posting soon. In the meantime, the Simpsons played by a total guitar geek will work.

Piano Man

Perhaps you have seen this before. Perhaps not.

If you've read it before and/or are already familiar with the wonder that is McSweeney's, please accept my apology for alerting you to something you are already alerted to. ("Hey, check it out! Air is great!" Something like that, yes.) If you are not already familiar, you can thank me later.

Tipping Point

great book & author

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

You can also download a full audio version read by the author at the iTunes Music store.

This store has changed my life.

posted by Vinnissimo

Diablo at center ice

An unfortunate name, a great headline.