Another Monday has rolled upon us (or over us, in some cases), so it’s time for another installment of the Discover Playlist: a.k.a “what Spotify thinks Justin should be listening to so his co-workers don’t have to listen to PUP again all day.” Aside from the one wild week where my entire playlist was Tejano music (who knows what wires …
Friday Playlist (10/14/16)
So it’s been a touch over five years since I last did a Friday Playlist kind of thing. That’s about three years too long since I’ve tortured people with my musical opinion! I could wax poetic about how what I’ve been listening to has changed so drastically over the past half-decade, but you and I both know that is just …
On the merits of Spotify #1
I’ve been a big (paying) fan of Spotify for about five years. Yeah, the early years were a bit shaky, but there is just something about being able to find almost all of my old faves on a music service that pretty much goes wherever I go. Because I listen to such an odd diversity of artists and genres, one …
I just happen to have a chance cube here…
Somewhere around mid-August, 2014, I, along with a handful of old friends and a couple soon-to-be old friends, embarked on a new and fantastical journey. A journey that was so epic that I just had to use up all acceptable commas in my opening sentence. A journey into the Fifth Edition of the perennial classic Dungeons and Dragons. Yes, there …
Music and Memory: Learning to Embrace Forgetfulness
Way back in 2011, I wrote a piece about how song lyrics and melodies seem to rattle around in my brain for decades at a time. For the most part, five years later, that is still true, but lately I’ve been faced with a newish dilemma that has been making me a tad nuts. I listen to a lot of …
Losing Heroes and Embracing Purple
It’s April 21, 2016 and Prince Rogers Nelson has passed away. I gotta say that Prince’s death has hit me as much as David Bowie, Joe Strummer and Joey Ramone. I’m sitting here in my home office watching Prince totally nail his Super Bowl XLI halftime performance in what most artists would consider an utterly unperformable situation. It’s pouring down …
Reflections on The Force Awakens [spoiler free]
I just want to start this by reiterating the title: this blog post is spoiler free. For those readers who don’t know me, or don’t know me that well, I’d like to introduce myself. Hi, I’m Justin and I have a serious Star Wars problem. I’ve had an emotional investment in this franchise since 1977 like a lot of other …
Congratulations! You are now the Mayor of the Ministry of Truth
Back in 1948, little Georgie Orwell wrote a book that imagined a world where people where the government rules supreme over all aspects of the life of the citizenry. “Dystopian” and “Oligarchic” are a couple of words that are often bandied about when Nineteen Eighty-Four and many a shitty high-school book report has discussed the growth of a strong Federal …
Pic of the day 2012: day 34
Lulubell deck I painted last year. I really should send this down to the crew in AZ.
Our [insert name] is an awesome [insert name]
Last week when I was heading out from the house, I drove past a rather thought-provoking sign in front of a church (I know “thought-provoking” along with “clever but wholesome” pretty much encompasses all of what most church signs try and pull off, but go with me here) that said “New Year, Same God.” That really got me thinking. Sure, …