Thursday, December 11, 2008

My Inner Pop Princess

I have a confession to make.

Deep down I'm a fan of pop music. Me and Avril are tight. Nelly Furtado makes me shake my booty. Shakira makes me want to speak Spanish.

I guess it all started back in 2002 when a girl I was dating wanted to go see Michelle Branch. I reluctantly agreed and figured if I had to sit through the damn concert I might as well listen to some of her stuff. So I popped on Napster (or whatever I was using in 2002) and downloaded The Spirit Room. Much to my surprise... it was kinda catchy. And when I saw her in concert she blew all my expectations away. She could sing and she could play the guitar and well... she rocked.

As the next few years went bye, The Spirit Room was my guilty pleasure. Whenever I was feeling mellow I'd pop it in the CD player and just cruise. Around this time I also started spending more time in the gym, and they were always playing some Top 40 station. Avril Lavigne's Complicated had just hit it big and I can't tell you how many miles I put in on a treadmill listening to that song. It grew on me.

So there I am, secretly rocking out to Michelle Branch and Avril when I'm all alone. Then one fateful day a year or two ago my wife was watching a movie on ABC family or the Life Channel or something like that. Anyways, a Michelle Branch tune is on the soundtrack and I start singing it. Of course this isn't one of her big hits like Everywhere or All you Wanted. This was the song between them on the CD, You Get Me. And I am singing every damn word. I have no excuses and my wife immediately called me a Pop Princess.

So I've been outed. I love Kelly Clarkson's Since U Been Gone, Christina Aguilera's version of Candyman, and Katy Perry's I Kissed a Girl.

My 16 year old self just died.

In his memory I should play some Metallica or some Pearl Jam. Instead, I'll play my newest guilty pleasure Pull Shapes by the Pipettes, a band I first learned about from a funny book

Monday, November 10, 2008

#26. See Metallica Live

I saw Metallica live for the 8th time last night. In honor of this historic event, I present:

A Metallica Retrospective

Load Tour: April 15 1997

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This concert blew me away. I was 16 and had seen AC/DC in 1996 (my first real concert) but nothing had prepared me for my first Metallica show. The Boys in Black had put a lot of money into the stage theatrics and it showed. At one point, the entire friggin stage started blowing apart. Roadies fell from the ceiling. On fire. It was awesome.

After the carnage, James came out and pulled the string on a solitary lightbulb (all that remained after the destruction). "IS EVERYBODY OK?!??" he roared with a grin. "YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA" we responded, as they came back out and rocked in a "Garage Inc" days stage.

To this day I don't think I've been to concert that was better. I also love how the Ticket Stub says Riverfront Colosseum instead of US Bank Arena.

Set List:
Intro
So What!
Creeping Death
Sad But True
Ain't My Bitch
Hero of the Day
King Nothing
One
Wasting My Hate
Bass / Guitar Solo
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Wherever I May Roam
Fade to Black
Seek & Destroy / Fight Fire With Fire
Last Caress
Master of Puppets
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Motorbreath

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I have no idea why the date for the Cincy show is wrong on the T-shirt.

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Re-Load Tour: July 7 1998

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At the time I didn't know how lucky I was to be seeing them again so soon after the '97 show. I loved the Ecstasy of Gold intro video they had. It was pretty much this clip from The Good The Bad and The Ugly:



For some reason Tuco running through the graveyard was a badass way to start the show. I'm pretty sure I gave myself whiplash during Master of Puppets. The acoustic set in the middle was pretty cool too, and hearing Metallica play Sweet Home Alabama was surreal (and is probably why I insist on yelling Play Some Skynyrd! at every concert I attend)

Setlist
Ecstasy of Gold
Helpless
Master of Puppets
Of Wolf And Man
The Thing That Should Not Be
Kirk solo
Where the Wild Things Are jam
Fuel
Memory Remains
Jason solo
Bleeding Me
Nothing Else Matters
Until it Sleeps
King Nothing
Wherever I May Roam
One
Fight Fire With Fire
Low Manґs Lyric (acoustic)
The Four Horsemen (acoustic)
Sweet Home Alabama jam (acoustic)
Motorbreath (acoustic)
Sad But True
Enter Sandman
Creeping Death

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Summer Sanitarium 2000: July 8 2000

This show was at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta. A good friend of mine's father owned a luxury box at the speedway so we had the red carpet treatment all day. We took a limo to the show and had access to the luxury box all day. Seeing the crowds down on the field moshing to Korn from the luxury box was awesome. It was a sea of people jumping up and down in rhythm. Craziness!

This was the show that James missed because he was in the hospital due to a jet ski accident. I was pretty disappointed at the time, but I can honestly say I'm one of the few people in the world who have seen Kid Rock front Metallica for a Rolling Stones cover or Jonathon Davis fronting Metallica singing One. I think the bands pulled together well and put on a helluva once in a lifetime show. No ticket stub for this one because we had to turn those in to get our tickets for the make up show.

Set List
Creeping Death (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Seek & Destroy (Jason vox, Kenny guitar)
Mastertarium (w/Jason and then Serje on vox and Darren on guitar)
One (Jonathon Davis on vocals, SOAD on guitar)
Korn - Blind (w/Larz and Kirk)
Korn - Clown
Korn - Earache my Eye (w/Jason)
Korn - South of Heaven jam (w/Jason)
Sad But True/American Badass - (Kid Rock on vox)
Nothing Else Matters (Kid Rock on vox, Head on bass)
Kid Rock - Fortuante Son (w/Kid Rock and Jason vox)
Kid Rock - Jumpin' Jack Flash (w/Kid Rock vox)
Fuel (Jason vox, Kid Rock on turntables)
Turn the Page (Kid Rock vocals)
Whiplash (w/Kid Rock's guitarist)
Enter Sandman (w/Kid rock on backing vox, Head bass)

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Back Again: August 8 2000

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I love this ticket stub. "Special Guest: James Hetfield". Hilarious! Seeing the boys rock out Rupp was awesome. One clear memory I have of this show is how the opening band used numbers for the names of all their songs, and all their songs were instrumental. "This one is called #31!" Very catchy....

Set List
Ecstasy of Gold
Creeping Death
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Seek & Destroy
Fade to Black
Sad But True
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
King Nothing
Mastertarium
Battery
Nothing Else Matters
I Disappear
One
Turn the Page
Enter Sandman
Last Caress / So What! / Die Die My Darling

Summer Sanitarium 2003: July 19 2003

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I loved the start of this show. Battery and then straight into Master of Puppets. Can't get much better than that. This was a show of many firsts. It was the first time I got to hear Harvester of Sorrow Live. This was the first time my (future) wife and I saw Metallica together (even though she also attended the Speedway and Rupp makeup shows). And finally, this was the first concert I attended where I didn't buy a t-shirt. At $30 they were too much for me (and I've never bought another). This concert marked my last mosh pit as well, as I took an elbow to the throat during Linkin Park's set. My voice disappeared as the day went on and I couldn't talk for a week (which amused my friends to no end). Lowlights of the day included Fred Durst and the Buckeye idiots yelling OH-IO between sets.

Battery
Master of Puppets
Harvester of Sorrow
Sanitarium
For Whom the Bell Tolls
Frantic
Sad But True
St. Anger
No Remorse
Seek & Destroy
Blackened
Fuel
Nothing Else Matters
Creeping Death
One
Enter Sandman

St. Anger Tour: May 1 2004

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Whew... the 4 year drought ends. We had to sit in the bleachers for this show, since this was before Cincinnati reversed the ban on festival seating. A few things stick out to me about this show, including one of my wife's friends sitting down at the concert. For shame! Also, I managed to score my first Metallica guitar pick despite being 8 rows up in the stands. I saw one lying on the floor and convinced a bored security guard to hand it to me. During this show we also discovered that Sober James was quite the chatty Kathy. This was also the first show I went to where the band offered a download of the concert from LiveMetallica.com The crowd singing the entire first verse of Sad But True is awesome.

Set List
Blackened
Fuel
Seek and Destroy
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Frantic
King Nothing
No Leaf Clover
St. Anger
Sad But True
Creeping Death
Battery
I Disappear
Kirk Doodle #2
Nothing Else Matters
Master Of Puppets
One
Enter Sandman
Am I Evil?
Metal Militia

St Anger Tour: September 24 2004

met2004-2

Ah, the second visit during the St. Anger Tour. After this show my wife and I decided that the next time Metallica toured we'd go see em three times (little did we know that by the time that happened in 2008 we'd have just bought a house and have no money for that). This show was in Columbus so this time we were on the floor. It was probably the closest I had ever been to the stage at a Metallica show. The stage was set in the middle and fans could stand at the rail all the way around the stage. Once again I managed to score a guitar pick (different from the one I got at the Cincy show). Hearing Hit the Lights live for the first time was cool.

Set List
Blackened
Fuel
No Leaf Clover
Creeping Death
Frantic
Wherever I May Roam
Turn the Page
St. Anger
Kirk Doodle #1
Fade to Black
Master Of Puppets
Fight Fire With Fire
I Disappear
Melbourne
Nothing Else Matters
Sad But True
One
Enter Sandman
Hit The Lights
Seek and Destroy

Death Magnetic Tour: November 9 2008

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Whew! After 4 longs years I finally got to see them again. Though the guys look a bit older, they can still blow the place up. Kirk just plays the hell out of that guitar. My buddy's wife was 8 1/2 months pregnant and I thought for sure the baby would be popped out by the sound of his playing. I was a bit sad I didn't score a guitar pick or one of the Death Magnetic beach balls they dropped from the ceiling, but the show was great.

Set List
That Was Just Your Life
The End of the Line
Creeping Death
Ride The Lightning
One
Broken, Beat & Scarred
Cyanide
Sad But True
Wherever I May Roam
Leper Messiah
Kirk Solo #1
The Day That Never Comes
Master Of Puppets
Battery
Kirk Solo #2
Nothing Else Matters
Enter Sandman
Die Die My Darling
Jump in the Fire
Seek and Destroy

Concert Review

Wow. 8 shows over 12 years. I've attended four with my wife, five with my Dad, and all eight with one of my best friends. Whenever the Boys in Black tour again, you can bet your ass we'll be there.

Monday, November 3, 2008

13. Become educated on presidential candidates and their stands

John Stuart Mill was a proponent of an educational qualification for voting. While I admit that such a qualification would almost certainly be used for nefarious purposes (Jim Crow laws for example), seeing things like this give me pause:



Regardless, I felt it was my personal duty to learn about the candidates I would need to choose from on November 4th. And though I lean liberal on the majority of issues I firmly believe in keeping an open mind and not clinging to misguided beliefs in the face of insurmountable evidence to the contrary. So, in order to come to a decision about who to vote for I did the following things:

1.)Subscribed to the New Yorker Campaign Trail Podcast. Obviously this was a very liberal POV coming from the New Yorker whose editors endorsed Obama.

2.)Read frequent "World Watch" columns by Orson Scott Card at The Ornery American. An example can be found here. OSC is a pretty socially conservative dude and as a person who is one of my favorite authors, was someone I felt could provide me with a conservative viewpoint that might be more palatable to me. Unfortunately it wasn't. OSC leans towards paranoia in his columns and ventures into the realm of hypocrisy on many occasions.

3.)Watched the Democratic and Republican National Conventions. Highlights included Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer's speech,



Ted Kennedy's appearance, Mick Huckabee's comedy act, and Sarah Palin's speech which led to this great image:



4.)I read Barack Obama's Dreams from My Father and John McCain's Faith of My Fathers.

5.)I took a ride on the Straight Talk Express,
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when McCain came to town.

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I even shook his hand

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6.)I went and saw Barack Obama when he came to town.

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I shook his hand as well

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7.)I watched all 3 Presidential debates and the VP debate

8.)I visited the best polling site on the web fivethirtyeight.com daily

9.)And I enjoyed all the laughs, from The Daily Show



to Tina Fey as Sarah Palin, to Obama Girl.



So as I make my way to the polls tomorrow, I will feel very confident as I vote to elect Barack Obama as the next president of the United States. Though I believe that John McCain is a good man and a true American hero, I have come to believe that he and I differ on many significant issues and picking someone like Sarah Palin as his VP has shown me that he wants to get elected more than he cares about the future of this country. I believe that Barack Obama will be the best person to move us forward from the past eight years and I look forward to affordable health care for my family (which I don't have now), a Supreme Court that isn't controlled by conservatives, and having someone who I believe has a keen understanding of the domestic and foreign policy issues that face America in the White House.

I hope you will vote for Barack Obama tomorrow. However, more than that, I hope that you came to that conclusion by educating yourself. If you plan on voting becoming educated is your duty and if you haven't I hope that you will sit this one out.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

#85. Buy a House

Well, this past Monday my wife and I closed on our first home. The house is an old farmhouse (built in 1890) that was extensively remodeled in 1993 (new wiring, plumbing, walls, additions, etc.). Along with the house comes a 1800 sq ft Pole Barn and 4.165 acres.

When our realtor first showed us this house I knew the minute I sat down on the beautiful wrap around porch that I wanted it. I felt like I could sit on that porch for the rest of my life.

I'm still amazed at how fast this process went, and I'm a bit terrified about the mortgage, but this past week has been fun.... despite being filled with hours of wallpaper stripping.

Monday, October 13, 2008

John Stuart Mill

Today I was on an airplane for 5 or 6 hours, and nothing is better for guilt free reading than riding on a plane. I had picked up a biography of John Stuart Mill by Richard Reeves after reading a review of the book in The New Yorker. I knew of Mill from various History of Psych classes (both undergrad and grad) but had never paid him much mind (there's soooo much to cover in those classes all you can get is a very limited understanding of each famous philosopher) until I read the review. Some of Mill's quotes slapped me upside the head and demanded that I pay him some attention.

So I settled in on my plane ride today to see if the book was as entertaining as the review. 125 pages in and I'm going to go with yes. In fact, I began scribbling notes to myself on one of the in-flight magazines.

I'm treating this more like journal at this point than a blog, so feel free to stop paying attention at this point because this will be very stream of conscious and mostly jotting down quotes from the book, so I have something to reference and synthesize later.

pg 4 Mill quote: "I never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid. I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative"

ZING!

pg 33 Mill quote: "Without knowing the language of a people, we never really know their thoughts, and their character, and unless we do possess this knowledge, of some other people than ourselves , we remain to the hour of our death, with our intellects only half expanded"

This is a great comment and is one of the many reasons why I need to get off my ass and start back with the Spanish lessons.

pg 35 - An amusing anecdote about Godwin's thought experiment about who one should save from a fire, one's wife or an archbishop. Godwin, as a utilitarian, would say the archbishop because he would bring the most happiness to the most people. Reeves quotes Bernard Williams who says: "if we have to throw one person over the side of the lifeboat, our wife or a stranger, and we have to think about it, that's just one thought too many"

pg 37 - Reeves writes that for Mills, the important question is not whether or not God exists, but whether or not the belief in the existence of God adds to human happiness.

My wife has tried to explain this to me on the numerous occasions I rant about the irrationality involved in religion. And I think I now see the point she was making.

pg 46 Mill quote "If to have been to the University be the end of education there is no doubt that by going to University that end may be most effectually attained"

As my adviser always says, you shouldn't let school get in the way of your education. I've found lately that I've had a hunger to read as much non-fiction as I can and in as many topics as I can. Nothing stimulates my mind like a book like this.

pg 54 Mill quote To silence any view, "was to say that the people are better qualified to judge before discussion than after it: which is absurd, since before discussion, if their opinions are true it is only by accident, whereas after it they hold them with a complete conviction, and perfect knowledge of the proofs on which they are grounded"

This is Mill discussing the dangers of mainstream opinion going unchallenged. - Reeves

pg 65 Hume quote "Be a philosopher, but amidst all your philosophy, be still a man"

pg 72-73 Mill on friendship "... the greatest source of friendship between minds of any capacity; this is, not equality, for nothing can be so little interesting to a man as his own double; but, reciprocal superiority. Each of us knows many things the other knows not, & can do many things which the other values but cannot himself do, or not so well"

This is such a great thought and is very close to why I think my wife and I are so perfect for each other.

pg 75 Reeves on Saint-Simon: "History passes through alternating eras of stability and change - 'organic' and 'critical' periods; that conflict of opposites led to a resolution different to either; that societies were continually breeding the seeds of their own destruction; and both ideas and institutions appropriate for one age would become redundant in the next and need replacing"

Shades of William James's stain, Pirsig's static and dynamic quality, and maybe a little Kuhn. I need to think about this so more and integrate it.

pg 76 Reeves paraphrasing Mill "The value of any specific law or institution was necessarily contingent upon the social, political, and economic context of the time"

This is actually how I wish people would interpret the bible. In the proper historical context with an understanding of the intended audience.

pg 78 Mill quote: "But to hear a man gravely pledge himself to be always of the same opinion - bind himself by a solemn promise that the arguments which convince him now, upon his honor shall convince him to his dying day - that what he thinks advisable now he will think advisable always howsoever circumstances may change . . . is utterly ludicrous"

I wish more politicians and scientists would read this. Especially those who blast their colleagues for "flip-flopping"

pg 84-85 Mill quote: "Contemporary education is all cram. The danger then was that the mental light of the nations has lost in intensity at least part of what it has gained in diffusion; whether our 'march of intellect' be not rather a march towards doing without intellect, and supplying a deficiency of giants by the united efforts of a constantly increasing multitude of dwarfs"

A bit elitist sure, but an interesting point that is still valid in regards to school today. For Mills, according to Reeves, a genius was not someone who displayed a dazzling intellect, but a person who was fully self-determining and autonomous. I don't think our schools do a good job at training that (see the discussion of Margaret Mead's Coming of Age in Samoa)

to be continued...

Monday, October 6, 2008

Book Review (12/34) Faith of My Fathers by John McCain

It's an odd feeling when you are purchasing a book that goes contrary to your point of view. I felt like explaining to everyone near me that I wasn't a Republican, that I was planning on voting for Obama, and that I just felt I needed to give each candidate a "fair" shot at gaining my vote. I selected the book entitled "Faith of my Fathers" as I felt it would be a nice complement to Obama's "Dreams From my Father". Both books detail the early years of the candidates. Obama's from birth, through his years of organizing in Chicago, until his life changing journey to his father's native land of Kenya. McCain tells the story of his grandfather, father, and his own life up through his release from a Vietnamese POW camp.

As I mentioned I felt weird, and a little ashamed, as I read through McCain's book in a crowded airport. I was definitely reading the book with a jaded eye as I saw a politician's voice leaping at me from every line. But the more I read the more I liked this Mac Kane (as his Vietnamese captors called him) guy. His admiration for his grandfather (an Admiral in WWII who was at the Japanese surrender) and his father (Admiral and Commander of the Pacific Command during the Vietnam War) is very apparent and you can tell that McCain comes from a different breed of men. Men of honor and determination who would give their lives for America without a moment's hesitation.

I guess the part of the book that impressed me the most was McCain's description of his experiences as a POW for 5 1/2 years. Though he certainly deserves admiration for his own loyalty and faith during his years of imprisonment he continually downgrades his own achievements to relate the heroic deeds of other POWs. I can't imagine going through what McCain endured in those 5 years and the man is obviously an American Hero.

That's what I think really gets confused in this red-blue divided country of ours. Though I disagree with McCain's stances on a lot of issues, I began to see him in a different light in this book. He is a good man. An American Hero. There's a lesson to be learned here. I think deep down we all want the same things, the things that Michelle Obama (in her convention speech) reiterated. We all want an equal opportunity to succeed based on our own merit and the ability to provide our children with a better life than we had. No matter how much Fox News tries to blast Obama for his lack of a lapel American flag, or how much Comedy Central rips McCain I think during the rest of the election season I will try to remember that at the core these two people are good men.

I know some of you are cynical about politicians. But when I read these books I just feel I get a little more than listening to 5 second sound bytes on the news. I'm reminded of a quote by Vaclav Havel where he writes that living normally, "begins as an attempt to do your work well, and ends with being branded an enemy of society"

Monday, September 22, 2008

#41. Run a Marathon

Why is it on the list?

If you had told me 2 years ago I would eventually run a marathon I would have called you crazy. The thought of running 26.2 miles just seemed insane. But I had this bug up my ass that if I trained hard enough I could maybe ... just maybe... finish an Ironman one of these days. And well you can't do an Ironman without being able to do a marathon.

The Process

As usual, you can find a full break down of the race from the My Space page. But after months of training I finished my first marathon in 4:18:24, which is about a 9:52 pace. This is a little slower than I had secretly hoped, but I did complete my goal of beating Oprah's marathon time. I made it to the 20 mile mark in about 3 hours, but bad leg cramps derailed my dreams of beating P Diddy and the 4 hour mark. Completing those last 6.2 miles was one of the hardest things I've ever done and I was thrilled to cross the finish line in good shape and to be able to celebrate with my wife who also finished her first marathon!

Two days later I am a bit sore, but I'm ready to march on to the dream of becoming an Ironman. The next big step will be the Half Ironman and I'm targeting the Great Buckeye Challenge in August 09. Stay tuned!

Saturday, September 13, 2008

#92 Get a passport

Whoo-hoo! My passport arrived today! About time I got one don't ya think? Now the big question is where do I go first?!?!

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Book Review (11/34) To the Castle and Back by Václav Havel

I first learned of Havel back in 2003 when I read this article in the New Yorker. I was struck by a particular quote of Havel's in the article, so much so that I actually wrote it down (Once upon a time I kept a small notebook where I would write down quotes that made me think or laugh). Havel wrote that all too often, "living normally begins as an attempt to do your work well and ends with being branded an enemy of society".

This quote appealed in the context of Havel challenging the authority of his boss, which I'm sure is what appealed to my rebellious streak. I wrote the quote down and made a mental note to read one of his books someday.

5 years later, (and with my 101 Things to Do List focusing my energies) I decided to finally purchase one of Havel's books. I settled on his memoir, To the Castle and Back. The Castle refers to the Prague Castle, where Havel spent his years as President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic after the split. To the Castle and Back contains Havel's answers to an interviewer's questions mixed in with memos Havel sent to his staff during his presidencies. The memos provide insight into both the wonderful and the mundane aspects of being the President of a country, and as a playwright Havel does not fail to entertain.

The majority of the book was written while Havel was visiting Washington DC in 2005 and his comments on Americans are hilarious:

"Americans place great store in white teeth, something I find generally agreeable; they have dozens of ways of achieving dental perfection and whiteness, and I don't think it's unusual for people here to have a relatively healthy set of teeth replaced with one that is artificial but more beautiful"

"... American cars, which for unknown reasons, have herds of useless horses under their hoods and are capable of speeds many times greater than is allowed anywhere here"

I also enjoyed the discussion of how absurd Havel found it that he became President, and all his insecurities despite the fact that he is universally regarded as a hero, someone who was instrumental in bringing about the fall of the Soviet Union. The fact that he mixes in memos such as: "We need a longer hose for watering" and "I would ask Mr. Rechtacek to repair and refill my lighter and send it back" with memos dealing with meeting world leaders and setting the course of world events makes it a wonderful reading experience. President Havel, I thoroughly enjoyed your memoir, and promise that it won't be 5 years before we meet again. I just have to decided which one to read next...

Monday, August 25, 2008

#45. Complete a Muddy Buddy

What is it?

The Muddy Buddy is a race that consists of a two person team. One person begins the race on foot while the other begins the race on a bike. The person on the bike rides until they reach an obstacle. They drop the bike, complete the obstacle, and then take off on foot. The guy who started on foot completes the obstacle, grabs the bike, and then leapfrogs his teammate. This pattern continues through the course as you encounter obstacles. At the end, you are your teammate meet up and slog through a mudpit to the finish line.

Why is it on the list?

I love doing fun races. The Urban Challenge was awesome. The Mad Cow Urban Adventure Race was crazy. And I'm eyeing the Krispy Kreme challenge for next year. But a mud covered obstacle course sounded perfect and as it was as close to Ninja Warrior as I'm likely to get I was all for it.

The Process

Well the official race report will be linked on My Space soon enough, but needless to say good times were had by all as we ran across a balance beam, climbed over a wall, scaled a cargo net, slid down the slide at the other end, monkeyed our way through an over/under jungle gym, and trudged through the mudpit. If you want a good time I highly recommend the Muddy Buddy!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Book Review (10/34) Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama

#13 on this list is to become educated on the presidential candidates. As part of this process I've decided to read their books. I started with this book because I'm fairly certain I'll vote for Barack Obama and this particular book was his first. I was also hoping for an open and honest story from a man who had no idea he would one day be running for President when he wrote the book.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was divided into 3 main sections, detailing Obama's upbringing in Hawaii and Indonesia, his work as a social organizer in Chicago, and his first visit to Kenya, the birthplace of his father. Obama's struggle as a child of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenyan is poignant. I had no idea that he only met his father once and for such a short period of time. I didn't know he spent years of his childhood in Indonesia. It was difficult to read about his search for black role models and the search for his own identity in Hawaii. Also, the tales from his white grandparents about the racism they experienced in Texas hit close to home.

When I was younger (maybe 11 or 12) I befriended a young black kid on the school bus. He was probably 7 or 8 and I would read to him on the ride home. Soon enough, the other kids on the bus (as mentioned in other posts I grew up in a 99% white community) started making fun of me. I'm ashamed to say I succumbed to peer pressure and gradually started distancing myself from the younger kid. It really gets to me when I think about what he had to go through and the fact that I wasn't strong enough to stand up to the people making fun of me for being his friend.

Barack Obama inspires me. When I listen to his speeches I feel like maybe we can come together as a nation and perhaps my children's children can truly see past race. I hate hearing my family and friends make racial comments. I've seen adults encourage and reinforce children to insult immigrant workers. I've been in cars where people have locked the doors when they saw a 12 year old black girl playing hopscotch. And I'm still ashamed at the courage I lacked when I was that same 12 years old.

Anyways, I think this book does an excellent job providing a look at Obama's early years. I enjoyed reading his journey of self-discovery and the lessons he learned in Hawaii, Indonesia, Chicago, and Kenya. I'm quite interested to see the differences between the Audacity of Hope (written after he became a politician) and this book. I'll also be getting his policy book coming out in September.

But next I must give Senator McCain a chance. As much as I don't see myself voting for a Republican candidate I feel that I must not fall victim to the sentiment expressed by Phillip Wylie: "But you don't know how to read anymore. When you open a book, you do it in the faith and assurance that you are already master of what it contains and that the author has written only so you may prove him wrong". So I plan to read one of McCain's books next, and try and keep an open mind.

Monday, July 28, 2008

#64. Eat at new ethnic restaurants (Korean, Vietnamese, Filipino, Jamaican)

Growing up in Northern Kentucky did not provide a lot of chances for experiencing cultural diversity. The town I grew up in was about 98% Caucasian and for 16 years I went to Catholic schools that had about the same demographic. Thus, I spent the first 22 years of my life living in some sort of bubble where everyone looked the same, thought the same, worshiped the same, and ate the same. I ate steak, fried chicken, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken tenders, fried fish, French fries, ice cream, and Snicker bars. I pounded Big Macs and the now defunct Arch Deluxe. I thought Red Lobster was the best seafood restaurant in the world and that the perfect Italian meal could be had at the Olive Garden.

Then I went to graduate school.

Within our program we had students from: India, Malaysia, China, Russia, Spain, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan, and the United Kingdom. We had Muslims, Jews, Mormons, Hindus, Buddhists, Evangelicals, Protestants, Catholics, Agnostics, and Atheists. We had Vegans, Vegetarians, Kosher, Fish on Fridays, and Fasters. It was thanks to this diverse group of people that I began to see there was more to the world than what I had experienced in the NKY.

Early on in my first year, the graduate students had a cultural evening where everyone brought a dish from their country/region (I brought a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken). And wow… I was amazed. There was so much tasty food that I had never even heard of let alone tasted. The next thing you know I was sitting at Amar India eating Lamb Curry. I was having a gyro at the Greek Isle Deli. I was eating Sushi with chopsticks and I was loving the eye watering spice at Thai Nine (once I gave it two or three tries). I realized that I loved international cuisine and every time I wanted to eat out I found myself heading to Jeet India or the Japanese Hibatchi or well you get it. This also showed me how great local restaurants are compared to chains and led me to discover great local American fare as well.

When I moved to Knoxville I decided to continue exploring different cuisines. I tried Cuban and Korean. Since the last update I’ve had some great shrimp spring rolls from T Ho. Vietnamese, some excellent shrimp noodles at the Philippine Connection (along with a drink that had coconut milk, tropical fruit, and sweet beans that was reminiscent of a drink I had in Hawaii), and falafel, fried zucchini, baklava, and Turkish Delights from Ali Baba’s. (all three of which are located in Knoxville).

So I’ve definitely fulfilled my quota of three new ethnic cuisines (although I have yet to try Ethiopian). However, the fun didn’t stop there! Today for lunch I had paprika schnitzel at Anna’s German Quick Stop (with some great sauerkraut and an excellent salad that had cucumbers and green beans). Then I went to the Jamaican Cuisine for dinner. The Jerk Chicken was fabulous. I’ve had “Jamaican Jerk Chicken” before but this stuff was the real deal. The rice and “peas” was terrific and I’ve decided that I absolutely love cabbage.

So thank you my fellow graduate students for opening my mind and my stomach to wonderful new worlds.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Book Review (9/34)The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan

I had an interesting IM conversation with a friend a few weeks ago. She had decided to try and limit the amount of processed foods she ate after reading this book. I have often made fun of people who only eat organic and books and movie about the horror of the food industry tend to have the opposite effect on me. Upton Sinclair's The Jungle made me want a hot dog and after seeing Super Size Me I really wanted a Big Mac.

However, as my friend continued to present the argument Pollan makes I decided that I at least ought to give the book a shot, especially considering the deal was that if I read the book she'd consider taking up running (convincing people to join me on my quest for healthy living through exercise seems to be a new hobby of mine). So I requested the book from the library and dove in when it arrived a few weeks later.

Pollan's book is an attempt to answer the question, "What should we have for dinner?". As he points out, this is an easy question for a koala bear, who only dines on eucalyptus leaves. However, for a human who can eat just about anything, the question proves more daunting, especially considering how far we are removed from the process of creating food these days. Pollan sets out on a journey to create and eat four meals, one produced by the Industrial food industry, one produced by Big Organic, one produced by Little Organic, and one that he hunted and gathered himself.

His section on the industrial food industry was eye opening. Basically, it appears that the majority of stuff we buy at Krogers (or whatever grocery chain you subscribe to) is made of corn. Scratch that. It's made of petroleum. See, the way it works is we feed cows corn (which makes the cows sick since they aren't made to eat corn, which makes us pump them full of antibiotics, which leads to strains of virii who are resistant to antibiotics....) that is made by using a shit load of chemical pesticides and fertilizers (made from petroleum). Which if you think about it makes ethanol hilarious. We use oil to grow corn then make ethanol from that corn for a net loss of oil. The more you look at it you see that the food industry has taken what was once a solar driven cycle and turned it into a fossil fuel cycle. Everything comes from corn. Chickens, pigs, cows, hell even salmon are being fed corn. That's why wild salmon is better for you than farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is basically... corn.

Of course the Big Organic industry turns out not much better. As Organic food gained popularity the demand made organic growers adopt the practices and methods of the industrial food industry. Thus, Big Organic is also based on the same bedrock of fossil fuels.

One of the most fascinating parts of the book is the description of the small farm (Little Organic) called Polyface in Virginia. Polyface is a small organic farm that only sells its products locally. The owner raises turkey, chickens, rabbits, cows, and pigs in a manner that is pretty close to the natural order of things. As a result, the products of the farm are healthier and tastier than their industrial counterparts as well as better for the environment. I really want to try eating this way and will check out Eatwild.com to find a local farm like Polyface.

The last section of the book has Pollan hunting and gathering for his meal and contains a nice discussion on the ethics of eating animals. I don't think the discussion made me a vegetarian (or Pollan one either), but I do think I need to discover more about what I'm eating, specifically where it comes from. I think eating meat from a place like Polyface would be a lot better than eating it from Krogers after reading this book.

So if you are looking to have your eyes opened about what exactly you are putting into your body when you pound a Big Mac, I highly recommend this book.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

42. Complete an Oly Tri

What is it?

A 1500 meter swim, a 40K (~25 miles) bike, and a 10K (6.2 miles) run.

Why is it on the list?

Well it's a small step on the road to becoming an Ironman. Why do I wanna do that? Stay tuned sports fans!

The Process

The link to my full race report is on My Space along with lots of pictures from the event. Suffice to say I finished in 2:58:44 and felt great. I'm looking forward to the next big step which is the Marathon in September!

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

#77. Finish bagging and boarding funny books

What is it?

Back when I was in 3rd grade I had a tonsillectomy. As I spent a week laid up in bed recovering, my mother purchased some comic books to keep me busy and in good spirits. Around the same time frame, my father found some of his old comics in my grandfather's house, including Amazing Spider-man #121: The Death of Gwen Stacy. Reading through these comics got me hooked. I asked for a variety pack for Christmas the next couple of years and my collection was off and running.

Now in order to "protect" the comics from damage while they are in storage, people typically place them in a plastic bag with a piece of cardboard backing (i.e. bagging and boarding them).

Why is it on the list?

Well, of the 1750 comic books in my collection hardly any of them were bagged and boarded, including some of the most valuable ones my Dad found so many years ago. A buddy who also collects comics called me a heathen and demanded that I start bagging and boarding my collection.

The Process

Nothing too exciting to say here. It takes a long time to bag and board comics, and as the supplies cost some money, I spaced it out over the course of a year. But as of today, the 1750 comics in my collection are all safely bagged and boarded and placed in short boxes (13 of em!). It was a fun trip down memory lane and I got to reread a bunch of good comics.

Nowadays, I still visit the comic shop every Wednesday. It blows my mind that people will watch Heroes on TV, see the latest Marvel Movie, and play superhero video games, but consider comic books to be "kid stuff". This might have a lot to do with the stereotypical comic nerd who is a 45 year old virgin living in his Mom's basement. I wish we could get past this because there really are a lot of great comics out there for all ages and interests.

If you like horror, Stephen King's son Joe Hill is publishing a wonderful miniseries called Locke and Key. In fact, King's Dark Tower series is being adapted in comic book form (with original stories!) and a comic book adaptation of The Stand will be out soon! If you like smart science fiction try out Pax Romana from Jonathon Hickman, the first issue of which can be read for free here (click the page to advance to the next one). If you like Westerns, Dynamite has a sequel to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (the best western ever). We find Blondie immediately after digging up all the Confederate Gold. He's on the run from the Union for blowing up the bridge (in the movie), is running from the Confederates from who he got the gold (in the movie), and now is heading back to the Mission (from the movie) to save them from some bandits. Can't wait for Tuco to show up! And if you like noir, Ed Brubaker's Criminal is a great read.

I could go on and on. But I already know you won't pick up a comic book. But in the immortal words of A Christmas Story, I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

#86. Participate in Relay for Life

What is it?

Relay for Life is an event that raises money for the American Cancer Society. It is usually held at a track and the goal is to have someone from your team walking for the entire duration of the event(usually somewhere between 12-18 hours)

Why is it on the list?

I have participated in Relay for life since the year 2005. That first year I think I walked/ran around what a marathon would have been (26 miles or so). It was really inspiring to be there in the middle of the night with the luminaria (lighted candles in bags with names of cancer survivors and cancer victims) and walking with cancer survivors. At the time of my first Relay, my grandmother was battling lung cancer and anytime I got tired I just thought that no matter how tired it was nothing compared to her fight.

Shortly afterwards my grandmother passed away, and I dedicated Relay For Life 2006 in her memory. I became very involved with our team's organization and raised over $500 personally thanks to the generosity of many friends and family members. That year my team managed to raise the most money out of all the teams at the event.

In 2007 I managed to participate in Relay, but only at a low level. For the third year in a row I helped bag groceries at a local grocery to raise money and I walked some laps, but because I was busy planning my wedding I didn't get to participate as fully as I would have like. I vowed that I would return with a vengeance in 2008.

The Process

Now that I was no longer physically located at my graduate school, I knew I needed to find a different Relay locale. Also, I knew I wanted to do more than just join a Relay team... I wanted to lead one. I decided that I would form a team of friends and family members and do the Relay For Life that was happening in my hometown.

I thought about the team name and what sort of team theme we should have. I remembered how cool it was that a team in 2007 ran the event. As my group of friends are fairly athletic people I decided it was doable. Thus, the 100 Milers were born. Our goal was to run the entire Relay For Life Event from 7PM to 7AM and to ask people for donations based on miles ran. Additionally, we would have several fund raisers at the event to raise money. I found an awesome video game called Re-Mission, where you play a nano-bot who fights cancer cells within a person's body. I decided that at Relay our team would setup a few computers and allow people to play a mission for a fee, with the highest score of the night winning a prize. We also decided that a bake sale would be perfect for an event where people are going to be moving all night long.

I gathered a group of friends from all aspects of my life, from childhood up through graduate school, along with many members of my family. Every single one of my team members was extremely helpful in accomplishing our goals. Before the event we raised over $1700 online through donations and around $200 through other fund raisers. The day of the event, everyone showed up on time and in shape for their run. We smashed the 100 Mile barrier, totally 108 miles from the 7PM start to the 7AM finish. I ran over 14 miles from 3AM - 5AM, which was the longest I've ever ran.

In the process, we raised another $500 from the bake sale, video game, and on-site donations for a total of $2400 raised for the American Cancer Society. I am very proud of all my teammates who ran further and raised more money than they thought possible and also every one of our generous donors.

Relay is always an emotional event, and nothing was better for me than being with some awesome friends and family while my wife high stepped the final lap to complete a very successful night.

Monday, June 23, 2008

#80. Get a barcode scanner and start Project Home Library

Why is it on the List?

I have a dream. One day my wife and I will own a home that will be big enough to have a library. I've always wanted my own library. A room that has nothing but books from wall to wall and floor to ceiling, with some nice comfy furniture to settle in and perhaps a roaring fire in a brick fireplace.

I already have 4 bookshelves overflowing with books and I have an embosser with my initials and "Library Of". With so many books, the fact that I lend them out from time to time, and because I am a giant nerd, I decided the next thing to do would be to catalog the books. Now, entering in ISBN's by hand is a pain in the ass so I decided that a bar code scanner would be the way to go!

The Process

I've wanted a scanner for a long time, but not just any old scanner. I wanted a handheld USB scanner that could read the barcodes off of books and some software to link that bar code to an ISBN. Unfortunately, a nice scanner costs quite a bit of money. Sure I could have bought some bootleg software for $20 and a Cue Cat bar code reader for $5, but it would have been a huge pain in the ass to scan in the hundreds of books I own.

Thankfully, I married the greatest woman of all time. She not only got me an awesome bar code reader for my birthday (the thing can hold 500 bar codes at a time, which means I can take the reader over to the book shelves and not bring the books to the computer... saves a ton of time) but also a sweet software package that is perfect for my ever growing home library. So Project Home Library is well underway. I've got about 2 bookshelves completed and about two more to go!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Progress Update: Adding tricks to the rotation

I knew it had been awhile when my wife asked me, "So when are you gonna add some more tricks to the rotation?". I quickly assured her that it wasn't my fault! How am I supposed to add tricks to the rotation when my main source of recipes, The Common Culinarian, has been slacking! With no new recipes in sight and a wife tired of tacos and spaghetti I decided the only thing I could do was type pork (for some reason I'm really comfortable cooking w/ pork and chicken...everything else frightens me) in the search field of the Common Culinarian's website and hope for the best.

BAM! Pork Curry in a Hurry! I read through the recipe and thought, "Hell I can make this". I searched the pantry, found most of what I needed, decided that curry powder couldn't be that much different than red curry powder, and headed to Kroger to score some green beans, a bell pepper, lime juice, and coconut milk!

PDR_2039

I cut up the pepper, snapped the beans, and cubed the pork. Now even though multitasking in the kitchen isn't one of my strengths, I put the rice on and started to skillet (that's the technical term) up the pork.

PDR_2040

Once the pork was finished I started cooking the green beans and the bell pepper while continuously futzing with the rice. When it came time to add the coconut milk, I realized the electric can opener was broken and I couldn't find a mechanical one. I was "in the weeds" (as they say on Top Chef) as I tried to pry the lid open while keeping an eye on the veggies and the rice. Thank god my wife arrived home from work in time to save the day.

With her assistance I finally got the can open and added it along with all the spices:

PDR_2041

I heated it through, added the lime juice & sugar, and then served it up!

pciah

(Well that was a blurry photo) I think it tasted great and my wife seemed to agreed when she immediately said, "Add this to the rotation!" My only complaint was a lack of spiciness, which may have been due to choosing curry powder over red curry powder. I like my Thai food spicy and next time I'll try to kick it up a notch.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Book Review (7/34) Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande

The old joke goes something like this:

A tourist is wandering around New York city and he is clearly lost. He walks up to a local and asks, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?”. “Practice, Man, Practice” responds the local.

Despite the groans this joke elicits, there is sure to be a few wry smiles because of how true the statement is. If you want to be good at something you have to practice. Sure it helps if you have some natural talent, but the desire to be good at something and the will to keep practicing is just as important. Chris Ballard writes of Kobe Bryant in a recent article in SI:

There’s a difference between loving basketball and liking basketball. There are only about 30 guys in the league who love it, who play year round. Allen Iverson loves to play when the lights come on. Kobe loves doing the shit before the lights comes on. This thing, this freakish compulsion, may be the hardest element of the game to quantify. There are no plus-minus stats to measure a player’s ruthlessness, his desire to beat his opponent so badly he’ll need therapy to recover. One thing’s for sure: You can’t teach it. Is so Eddie Curry would be All-NBA and Derrick Coleman would be getting ready for his induction ceremony in Springfield, Mass. But people know it when they see it

Despite similar levels of athletic ability, his ability to practice more and harder than anyone else is the reason that Kobe Bryant is the best player in the NBA. The importance of practice isn’t limited to sports. Atul Gawande, in his book entitled Complications: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance states that studies have shown that the difference between the ability of elite performers (from violinists to chess players to athletes) and lesser performers is the amount of deliberate practice. In fact, Gawande cites a study by Ericsson who claims that the most important talent is the willingness to practice! Incredibly, elite performers hate practice just as much as their less able peers. However, they are somehow able to push through and will themselves to practice anyways.

Thus, if a person is to become exceptional at their profession, the best thing to do is to practice practice practice. This is obviously easy for Kobe Bryant; it just means more time in the gym. However, Gawande raises an important question: How do we teach surgeons? Obviously, to become an expert surgeon, one must have lots of hands on practice. However, how ethical is it to allow a surgical intern to practice on someone whose life is at stake? Study after study has shown that a patient is more likely to have a successful operation the more experienced a surgeon is. Yet the fact remains that as a society we need to train new surgeons. Additionally studies have shown that when new operating procedures are introduced, patient mortality increases in the short term (but decreases in the long term). How can we train surgeons on new procedures without putting patients at risk?

Gawande does a great job describing these problems and speaks of how he understands the need to train surgeons but he himself has refused to let an intern operate on one of his family members. I can see how much of an internal struggle this would be. I understand that we need to train new surgeons, but I sure as hell don’t want to be the first person a surgeon has ever operated on.

And all that thought was brought on by the first chapter! As usual Gawande’s writing stimulates the mind and the rest of the book is a quick read. Gawande discusses the problem of bad doctors, what should happen when a doctor makes a mistake (and every doctor will eventually make a mistake), the purpose of medical conferences, and a series of interesting case studies. I found the final chapter (about a young girl who may or may not have contracted the flesh eating bacteria) especially interesting. Gawande compared his successful diagnosis to the situations described inGary Klein’s work on firefighters in the field.

But the dilemma that stayed with me was how can we train surgeons without putting patients at risk? It is clear from studies of elite performers that the only way to become proficient in a profession is to practice practice practice. Yet who would want to be on the other end of the knife when a mere novice is holding the scalpel?

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

#73. Go somewhere at night where there isn’t a lot of ambient light and stargaze

Why is it on the list?

I grew up out in the country. One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to lay on the neighbor's trampoline and just look up at the stars. I'd see shooting stars and satellites and what just HAD to be alien spaceships. My Dad was always taking my sister and I outside to look at a lunar eclipse or to point out Venus or something and I think it must have been contagious. I loved looking at the sky (day or night) and my sister even put up constellations in her bedroom (using glow in the dark stars).

Anyways, as time passed, the night sky has grown less dark. As the surrounding towns grew and grew, more and more ambient light filled the night sky wiping out the stars. A guy built a house across the way from my parents and insisted on putting a street light out in the middle of nowhere adding to the problem. When I moved away from home I've had streetlights everywhere I've lived and there just doesn't seem to be as many stars any more... and the ones left are very faint and dull. Nothing like the brightness I used to ride my bike home in. (For more on how we are losing the night sky check out this article that also inspired me to add this item to my list)

So I was determined to find a place where I could once again go stargazing and relive those wonderful moments of my youth.

The Process

Little did I know I was going to be doing this from 9000 ft.

Recently, my wife and I took a trip to Hawaii for our one year anniversary. We visited the Big Island and were amazed at the lava fields and seeing Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. However, one of my favorite parts of the trip was the journey we took to the summit of Mauna Kea.

Mauna Kea is the tallest point in the Hawaiian islands at 13,796 feet high. We decided to book a tour that promised us sunset at the summit and a night of stargazing. Usually we end up adventuring on our own, but lacking a four wheel drive vehicle or proper climbing gear we decided to suck it up and be typical tourists for once.

Looking down on a sunset with clouds thousands of feet below you is quite the experience. It was very beautiful and romantic as my wife and I watched the sunset from the summit of the mountain. After sunset, we headed back to the 9000 ft level where the Visitor Center is. At the Visitor Center they had telescopes set up and had them pointed at Mars, Saturn, and the Moon. Saturn was wild looking through the telescope, you could see the rings but it literally looked like a little sticker you'd find on a grade school project.

Our guide also gave us some binoculars and pointed out many stars and constellations. The only thing that was slightly disappointing was the moon was out and almost full, which added a lot of ambient light. However, the stars were still brighter than they are when the moon isn't out in Knoxville. It was a blast and now I've climbed two mountains (we did have to hike a bit to get to the Summit... nothing spectacular, but it was wild how hard it was to go uphill when you are dealing with the high altitude) and got to stargaze in one of the most beautiful settings I've ever been in.

PDR_1923

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Book Review (6/34) Coming of Age in Samoa by Margaret Mead

The first time I encountered Margaret Mead was in a biography about Norbert Wiener. I was very impressed that Mead had written a well received book at the age of 27 in 1928 when at that time science was dominated by men. So, when I came across this book, Coming of Age in Samoa, sitting on the shelf in the local bookstore decided to give it a go.

Coming of Age in Samoa details the lives of adolescent Samoan girls in the early 1920s. Mead spent years observing the girls and provides an interesting look at their lives from birth to old age. Though the descriptions of the Samoan culture circa 1920 is certainly fascinating, the portion of the book that really captured my interest was the last two chapters, where Mead asks the question, “What can we learn about our society from studying the lives of the Samoans”. Mead makes some insights that are just as relevant today as they were in 1928.

Mead set the stage for these latter two chapters in the beginning of the book when she asks the question, “Must adolescence always be a stormy time of rebellion and angst or is that a unique feature of Western culture?”. Throughout the rest of the book the answer become clear. Adolescent girls in Samoa do not have the same turmoil and strife that adolescent girls (and boys) in America have. Mead hypothesizes that this is due to a lack of choice in Samoan culture. In Samoa, everyone believes the same things and the opportunities that a teen girl has for the future are relatively few. In comparison, an American teen is beset with limitless opportunities, and unlimited choices, which her parents, friends, and society constantly pressure her to choose from.

Mead makes a great point at the end of Chapter 13: “In all of these comparisons between Samoan and American culture, many points are useful only in throwing a spotlight upon our own solutions, while in others it is possible to find suggestions for change. Whether or not we envy other peoples one of their solutions, our attitude towards our own solutions must be greatly broadened and deepened by a consideration of the way in which other peoples have met the same problems. Realizing that our own ways are not humanely inevitable nor God-ordained, but are the fruit of a long and turbulent history, we may well examine in turn all of our institution, thrown into strong relief against the history of other civilizations, and weighing them in the balance, be not afraid to find them wanting.”

This is a point I keep harping on, but one I think is vital to how we live and raise our children. The struggles of our youth or our culture in general are due to the details of our culture, not fate or some inevitable part of the human process.

Mead’s words 80 years ago haunt me, because she saw the same problems I see today. “At the present time we live in a period of transition. We have many standards but we still believe that only one standard can be the right one. We present to our children the picture of a battle-field where each group is fully armored in the conviction of the righteousness of its cause. And each of these groups makes forays among the next generation. But it is unthinkable that a final recognition of the great number of ways in which man, during the course of history and at the present time, is solving the problems of life, should not bring with it in turn the downfall of our belief in a single standard."


Unfortunately, it is now eighty years since Mead has written those words and I believe that our society still is filled with these battles between camps of righteousness. Mead stated that:
The children must be taught how to think, not what to think.

And I don’t think we do that.

In Mead’s words, “Education, in the home even more than at school, instead of being a special pleading for on regime, a desperate attempt to form one particular habit of mind which will withstand all outside influences, must be a preparation for those very influences…And even more importantly, this child of the future must have an open mind. The home must cease to plead an ethical cause or a religious belief with smiles or frowns, caresses or threats. The children must be taught how to think, not what to think And because old errors die slowly, they must be taught tolerance, just as today they are taught intolerance. They must be taught that many ways are open to them, no one sanctioned above its alternative, and that upon them alone lies the burden of choice.”

I wish this was how our education system functioned. I long for the day when raising a child to be racist is viewed the same as physically abusing a child. I hope that I can raise my children to be tolerant and to not try and force my beliefs upon them.

Of course, the tricky part is finding where you draw the line. Obviously you need to instill in a child the idea of right and wrong. However, I would argue (and I believe Mead’s writing supports this) that right and wrong are very subjective things and culturally based. So how can I teach a child right and wrong without also inflicting upon them whatever “regime” (as Mead calls it) I subscribe to?

So the questions are:

1.)How can you teach a child to think and to keep an open mind while also teaching them the values that are near and dear to your heart?

2.)Should society as a whole get involved with how you teach your child these things? We as a society already step in where there is evidence of physical or sexual abuse. Should society step in for mental abuse as well? Should we consider it just as neglectful when Dad teaches Little Johnny to hate minorities as when he beats Little Johnny?

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Book Review (5/34) The Third Chimpanzee: The Evolution and Future of the Human Animal by Jared Diamond

This is the third book I've read by Jared Diamond, and though I didn't think it was as groundbreaking as Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, I still enjoyed the book. In fact, the ideas that were fleshed out in those two books (Why the European Culture came to dominate the world in the 19th century and why societies collapse) are both present in their infancies in this book.

Basically, Diamond makes the case that man is nothing more than another chimpanzee. We share over 98% of our DNA with chimps, and Diamond shows that everything we consider to be uniquely human traits have animal precursors or equivalents (with the possible exception of drug abuse). Sure humans use tools, but so do some animals (such as chimps using sticks to get termites). Well, humans have language another person might say. So does a species of monkey Diamond discusses that have different vocalizations for eagles, leopards, and snakes. Humans lie! Diamond mentions that some of these monkeys will vocalize a leopard warning when their tribe is losing a fight with another tribe to send their rivals scurrying up trees.

The list continues! Diamond showed that bower birds create "art" and that various animals commit "murder" and even genocide. He also speaks of how ants have domesticated aphids and use them as a food source, thus having a kind of agriculture. In fact, the only thing that seems to be uniquely human is drug abuse, and even that seems to have some animal precursors.

Diamond's main point is that humans have clearly evolved from animals and that the dividing line that we tend to draw between ourselves and animals isn't as distinct as we'd like to think. In fact, almost all the behaviors that we consider to be uniquely human appear to have animal equivalents, or at least precursors.

The next section of the book spends time detailing the evolution of man from our separation from a common ancestor with chimps and gorillas 7 million years ago to the arrival of Cro-Magnon Man 40,000 years ago. The speculation about the extinction of the Neanderthals being caused by Cro-Magnon Man is convincing and the discussion of the spread of languages is interesting as well.

Diamond also takes some time to point out the flaws in the Drake Equation that predicts a universe teeming with intelligent life. The best part is when Diamond makes a compelling case that if we really thought there was intelligent life out there then we should try to avoid it as our history tells us that when two groups of humans meet the technologically superior group wipes out the other. So sending out a radio broadcast telling whoever is out there exactly where we are probably wasn't the best idea ever.

Finally the rest of the book presents some early ideas of Diamond's that were expanded in Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse. If you've read those two books, you'll find some of this repetitive, but the first half of the book more than makes up for it and a little redundancy never hurt anyone.

I guess my only other qualm is that Diamond tends to over exaggerate at times. He has a tendency to make statements like "This evidence is indisputable" or "This theory is unquestionable" which is obviously false. A theory that is not questionable is not a theory. I agree 100% with the majority of Diamond's theories and conclusions, but that does not mean that they should be beyond questioning. We should remember what Norbert Wiener knew at the age of 10 when he wrote of "the impossibility of man being certain of anything".

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Book Review (4/34) Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Norbert Wiener the Father of Cybernetics

Now that my qualifying exams are finished I can get back to my education. For the first time in three years I am experiencing guilt free reading and it is a wonderful feeling. Of course I still have my dissertation to worry about and I believe that this book is a nice gentle step in the proper direction.

Norbert Wiener was an American Scientist who found the field of Cybernetics, which is basically the study of complex systems and has a lot in common with control theory. My advisor is a control theory guru and suggested this book as a way to get my feet wet so to speak. I've always admired authors like James Gleick and Richard Feynman who can turn complex subject matter into easily readable material and I'm happy to report Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman do the same with their biography on Wiener.

I think above all else, Conway and Siegelman portray Wiener as a tragic hero, a child prodigy turned into one of the most influential and prominent scientists of his day, who was haunted by self-doubt and had personal and political influences which had negative effects on his career (and in turn the course of scientific history and with that human history). In fact, based on the description of his upbringing by his father and the machinations of his wife to isolate him from his colleagues it's amazing what Wiener was able to accomplish. It is a tragedy that a lie created by his wife led to his ending his collaboration with Warren McCulloch, Walter Pitts, and Jerome Lettvin.

Despite these struggles (and the United States focusing on artificial intelligence concepts more than cybernetics) Wiener contributions to science cannot be overstated. Reading through the book it was amazing how many different fields benefited from his research. He was truly interdisciplinary. And beyond his scientific accomplishments and his estrangement from his daughters, he was a truly ethical and moral man who was more concerned with improving the human condition than chasing the almighty dollar. Wiener constantly spurned the defense industries and corporations after seeing the devastating effects of the atomic bomb and realizing the negative impact automation could cause humanity when motivated by sheer greed.

Wiener also had some great insights, even from an early age. Conway and Siegelman wrote that at ten, he wrote of "the impossibility of man's being certain of anything" and disputed "man's presumption in declaring that his knowledge has no limits". This brilliant insight (which I didn't accept until I was 26 and had to be pointed out to me) came to him at 10 years old. Additionally, the statement that "There is something against the grain in the ... wholesale acceptance of any creed, whether in religion, in science, or in politics. The attitude of the scholar is to reserve the right to change his opinion at any time on the basis of evidence produced" is something that I agree with one hundred percent.

I definitely think that Wiener's scientific approach match nicely with the philosophical views of James and Pirsig, and may indeed be the place I need to stick my shovel in the ground and say, "Here is what I think is happening". This book is an excellent introduction to Wiener and I think that I will start with his books Cybernetics and go from there.

Monday, May 5, 2008

#58. Cook something from a Top Chef recipe

Why it is on the list?

It all started when my wife and I started living together. I wanted to watch ESPN every minute of the day and she wanted to watch an endless parade of Gilmore Girls and 7th Heaven on ABC family. Then one magical day we tuned in to Bravo and found a fat man in a bathtub making a movie and we had something we could both enjoy. We stayed on after Project Greenlight wasn't renewed and we've enjoyed everything from the overly dramatic antics of the Hair Sheriff to the insanity of Showdogs Moms and Dads:



But nothing captured our imagination quite like Top Chef. Sure we love food and this show is all about showcasing the talents and skills of some excellent Chefs. But once you add in a cast of crazy characters (Chunk Le Funk, Stephen (Tool and Douchebag!), Miguel (SSSSSSS), Dave (I'm not your bitch bitch), Marcel (foams!), Hung (Crazy knife skills), and Howie (sweating into the food) and make Tom Colicchio the head judge, you have yourself a winner.

For 4 seasons my wife and I have tuned in every Wednesday night at 10PM to drool over the amazing dishes the chefs created, longing for the opportunity to taste them. Well we decided it was time to take matters into our own hands!

The Process

As previously mentioned, I recently purchased the Top Chef Cookbook.

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The first order of business was to pick a recipe, and as my wife and I had wanted to cook Elia's breakfast dish from Season Two since we saw it we knew exactly what we wanted to try first. Luckily, the recipe was in the book and looked relatively simple to make.

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We gathered the ingredients (doubling everything since we were making two) and made a few substitutions (Pam instead of butter for frying the eggs, regular ole ham for coppa ham).

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My wife was the Chef and I started on my Sous Chef duties. I mixed the olive oil with the refried beans

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toasted the waffles and then covered em with the refried beans while the Chef was frying the eggs. My wife drizzled the maple syrup over the waffles

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and then tossed em in the broiler for a few minutes

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All that was left was to toss on the ham and egg, sprinkle with parsley, and serve

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It was delicious and a great way to start off the day! It was fun to make and I had a great time cooking with the wife and finally making something we saw on Top Chef.

Sunday, May 4, 2008

#40. Run a Half Marathon

Why is it on the list?

Well, if I want to do an Ironman, I needed to start somewhere. The challenge for endurance races for me is much more mental than it is physical. I have a tendency to give up if I think I won't meet my goals. I decided I needed to change that and I thought that if I could do a Half Marathon, then maybe I could do a Full Marathon, and if I could do a Marathon then maybe.... just maybe... I could start thinking about an Ironman.

The Process

Well, today the wife and I and some friends completed the Flying Pig Half Marathon. An in-depth race report can be found from my MySpace Page. However, I did accomplish my goals of 1.)Finishing in under 2 hours 2.)Finishing without needing to walk and 3.)Finishing before any marathoners finished. Today was the longest I've ever ran both in terms of time and distance.

Now I just need to get my nerve up to sign up for the Air Force Marathon in September...

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Random Sports Musings

Don't Blame the Diesel

Sure he might have missed a boatload of free throws in Game 5, but Shaq isn't to blame for the loss against the Spurs. Two-time MVP Steve Nash was absolutely horrible down the stretch, with 3 or 4 costly turnovers in the game's closing minutes. Tony Parker embarrassed Nash all series long. I sure can't wait to see the Parker-Paul match-up in Round 2.

Long Live Sir Charles (and the TNT crew)

I'm sure many of you have seen this video of Kobe Bryant jumping an Aston Martin



Kenny the Jet Smith decided to give it a go with Bryant looking on:



Man. Every night I'm cracking my ass up at these guys. I can't wait for the Dwade appearance tonight.

The Big Eleven are a bunch of pansies

Once again a potential playoff for College Football has been derailed by the commissioners of the Big Ten and the Pac 10, who know the best way for their schools to get a crack at the National Title is to avoid playing anyone decent until the Championship Game. No way Ohio State wants any SEC team until they absolutely have to. This system continues to punish teams in strong conferences and mid majors, while the Buckeyes can continue to roll up the likes of Akron and Toledo in the non conference season, pound Indiana and Northwestern in their weak conference, make it to the BCS title game undefeated, only to get blown out by a battle tested school from the SEC. A 3 loss Tennessee or a 2 loss Florida will beat an 11-0 OSU or Michigan every time.

Shaun Alexander's Homecoming

I have no idea where Shaun Alexander would fit on the Bengals roster, with Rudi, Kenny Watson, Chris Perry, Dorsey, and Irons all taking up spots. But I would love for Mr. Boone County Kentucky to come home and play for the Who-Dey.

God must hate UK

Jason Parker fools around in the locker room.... torn ACL. Derek Anderson is running down the court against Auburn... torn ACL. Tyler Hansbrough jumps off a frat house into an above ground pool.... perfectly healthy. There's no justice in the world.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

#74 Go to a baseball game in a park I’ve never been, keep score, and pound some peanuts

Why is it on the list?

Although basketball will always be my first and true love (I am from Kentucky after all), at one point baseball occupied a similar place in my heart. My Dad played both sports in high school and continued playing pick-up ball and softball up until he tore his knee to hell when I was around 12 or so. Dad taught me both sports and I remember lying in bed listening to Joe Nuxhall (the ole left hander rounding third and heading for home) and Marty Brennaman (And this one belongs to the Reds) calling Reds games as I drifted off to sleep.

I was both a player and a spectator. I played tee-ball and knothole (Little League), but I much preferred playing whiffle ball or homerun derby in the backyard. However, I did have some memorable Little League moments, including the day I got thrown out at home after almost hitting an inside the park homer. As for being a fan, highlights include being at the 1988 All-Star game (SABO! SABO!), running around the house with a broom when the Reds swept the A's in 1990, being woken up to see the end of Tom Browning's perfect game by Dad, and seeing my best friend at the time take a line drive hit by Wally Backman (whose baseball cards we spent the next several years destroying) off the forehead .

For me not much beat sitting at the ballpark, pounding some peanuts, eating a hot dog, and keeping score. Keeping score is a skill my Dad taught me and as far as I know, no two people keep score the same way. And for some reason I just find it fun to sit there and score the game.

Then the strike of 1994 happened. At the time I was 14 and it absolutely devastated me. I swore off those lameass millionaires and made the decision to never again attend a ball game. That's a big statement, and it's a tribute to my stubborness that I actually refused to go to games until 1999 and only then when it was free. I finally broke down a few years back and actually paid to go to a few Reds game. But the spell was broken for me back in 1994. I no longer follow baseball as intently as I used to and I no longer root for the Reds with the same passion I reserve for the Wildcats and the Bengals.

However, I still enjoy peanuts at a ball game more than anywhere else, and keeping score still takes me back to a time when I really enjoyed the game. So I decided to try and do this at least one over the next 1001 days.

The Process

My original intent was to go to a Major League park that I've never been to. I've seen games at Riverfront, Jacobs Field, and whatever the Diamondbacks call their field. I've also toured the Colorado Rockies facility. So I thought I might go to Seattle and see the Mariners or maybe St. Louis.

However, this past weekend I decide to go watch some Double AA baseball. The Tennessee Smokies are the Double AA affiliate for the Chicago Cubs and play just outside of Knoxville. After a full day of biking in the mountains my wife and I thought it would be a perfect nightcap.

And you know what? It was. It was the way baseball should be. I paid $10 bucks for each ticket and we sat in the 2nd row right on the 3rd baseline. The program was $3 bucks, had a scorecard in it, and when I flipped through it I saw a sticker telling me to head to fan services to claim my prize (free ice cream from Marble Slab!). I headed to where they had the starting lineups written so I could fill out my scorecard and lo and behold there were 3 other folks doing the same thing! I've kept score at several Major League games the past couple years and have never seen anyone doing that! I thought it was a lost art! But here at this AA game there were many of us!

The game was great. Sure the Smokies got beat, but it was fun hearing the crack of the bats, the chants of the fans to the organs, seeing the kids chase after foul balls, and most importantly, enjoying a fun evening with my wife.

I pounded some peanuts, kept score, and for one night, enjoyed baseball again.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

1. Finish Qualifying Exams

What is it?

For my Ph.D program, before you start work on your dissertation you have to pass this thing called a Qualifying Exam. Basically, you form a committee of four professors and develop a reading list for each one of them. The exam has two parts, a written part and an oral part. For the written exam, each professor gets to ask a question. It lasts two days, and on each day you get two questions, 4 hours to prepare, and then 4 hours to write your answer. Then around 2-3 weeks later you get to come back and defend what you wrote in an oral exam.

Why is it on the List?

Well, it was something I needed to do and something that I had been dragging my feet on. I finished my Masters in late 2005 and should have taken this exam much sooner than now. I don't really know why I kept delaying it, but I knew when I made this list that this was something that was a huge priority for me and so it occupied the number one spot on the list.

The Process

About 3 weeks ago I took the written portion of the exam. Yesterday, I completed the oral defense of the written exam, and I passed. Now, I am ABD (all but dissertation) in terms of completing my Ph.D. There is still a lot of work ahead, but now all hurdles in my path have been cleared except this last one. Sure it's the biggest one, but all the other requirements are finished.

Of course, the dissertation process can be broken down into some steps (Proposal Development, Proposal Defense, Data Collection, Data Analysis, Writing it Up, Defending it) but yea... the dissertation is all that remains. I'm starting work on the proposal now and hopefully by Fall I'll have it defended.

Friday, April 25, 2008

Monday, April 14, 2008

The Physical Activities Update!

Looking at my list I feel like I have a lot of irons in the fire but I just can't scratch anything off yet. But trust me, I'm working hard! On the physical activities side of things, I have a full schedule this year, with races scheduled for March, April, May, June, July, August, October, and November. In March I did a 10 Mile Run, which was great preparation for the Half Marathon in May. I'm also already registered for a Muddy Buddy (in August) and will be registering for an Oly Tri soon (in July).

You'll also notice I don't have a race scheduled yet for September. If all goes according to plan at the Half Marathon, I'll probably accelerate my plans and try and do the Air Force Marathon in Dayton that month! And if I can get that under my belt, then all of a sudden a HIM in early 09 and an IM in late 09 don't look as far fetched. I still have a loooooong way to go, but I feel very much encouraged by my performance in the 10 Miler (see My Space for a link to the race report) and if the Half Marathon goes just as well....

I'm also reconsidering Heart Rate training. I know it's "good" but I've run a few times recently w/o my stopwatch and I actually enjoyed myself. I don't know if I really want to add another gadget.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

#62 Discover 5 new awesome local restaurants

Why it's on the list?

I think I've covered my love of local restaurants in previous posts.

The Process

Well, I think I'm waaaay over 5 now. With Saya, The Sunspot, Leathas, Market Square Kitchen, and more I think I've found plenty of sweet new places to eat. Of course, there's always more places to find and today it's time to talk about two of my new favorites:

Soups and Scoops Cafe: This is a little restaurant in Knoxville that has some of the best homemade soups I've had the pleasure of trying. My wife loved the Tomato Basil and I enjoyed the chicken noodle soup. The turkey sandwich with apricot chutney was also excellent. They also make their own ice cream (and have an astounding number of flavors). I've yet to try it, but I know a pistachio cone has got my name on it. Plus on Mondays ice cream is half off when you Moo like a Cow! Right up my alley!

Lynn's Paradise Cafe: Our friends in Louisville took us out to this place and it was a blast. We knew from the outside of the restaurant that whatever the food tasted like it was going to be a fun. They had one of those boards where you can poke your head through and get your picture taken (as a fork and a spoon). They had a store of merchandise filled with everything from Sigmund Freud Action figures to Awesome Derby Day Hats. The music was also excellent... nothing beats a little Classic Rock. Finally, each table had an ugly ass lamp on it... evidently there's a local ugly ass lamp contest and the winners wind up here!

On to the food! My wife and I started with the Fried Green Tomatoes. Now, sometimes when you order fried green tomatoes in a restaurant you get more fried than tomatoes. Not here. They were excellent and the spicy remoulade was delicious. Next, I decided to try the Spicy Seared Salmon, which is described in the menu as: Pan seared salmon marinated in garlic, ginger, shallots and crushed red pepper. Topped with a tomato fondue and shrimp jus. The salmon was perfectly cooked and the tomato fondue and shrimp jus really brought the dish together. I was definitely pausing and savoring the flavor. I also loved Lynn's choice of sides. Instead of just the traditional options, they had things like herb braised lima beans and braised rosemary cabbage. I chose those two items and they were great. I especially enjoyed the rosemary cabbage, a dish that was new to me. My wife's dish also tasted wonderful (the Hoppin Juan :a black bean chili and organic jasmine rice smothered with a zesty tropical mango chile salsa, cheddar cheese, sour cream and with cumin scented blue corn tortillas. I'm looking forward to a return trip, and this time I just might get the Jambalaya Pasta!