Listen: I have come unstuck in time.

I think about super powers a lot. Probably more than a 29 year old man should. I don't feel bad about it.

Today, I'm thinking about a show from my childhood called "Out Of This World," remember it?

The plot was like this: Teenage girl who has never known her father and grew up with her single mother learns that her father (voiced by Burt Reynolds) is actually an alien that starts communicating with her through a large crystal night-light. He was apparently on Earth just long enough to knock up her mom and take off back to Gallifrey or wherever the hell.


Anyway, the girl (named Evie) starts developing alien powers on her 13th (I think) birthday. The first, and best, of these is an ability to touch her pointer fingers together and freeze time. Of course, she is unstuck in time and free to move around while everyone, and ostensibly everything, else is frozen in the moment. If she touched you, then you also become unstuck, or she could just place her palms together and release the hold in its entirety.


This is the best power anyone could ever have. This is better than anything Superman, or anyone in the Justice League have. Sure, flying is great, but it's second fiddle to this.

My biggest problem with existing is that time is not infinite, and I am not ageless. Now, I don't know if Evie was ageless while time was frozen, and that's something that would really determine the frivolity with which you would employ this power. You wouldn't want to age faster than your friends because you were popping out of the time stream too casually. However, if you did remain ageless during these moments, then the possibilities are endless.

I would never sleep, or rather, you would never see me sleep. Any time I was tired, I would just touch my fingers together, slap some gloves on (to prevent accidental time release) and catch some z's. I would be the most well rested man to be awake all the time.
Any time there was busy work to do, POP, Time Freeze, y'all, and no one loses any of our precious daylight.

There's just not enough hours in the day, but if I could freeze time, there would be.

Another question is whether or not machines are functional while time is frozen. If they were, then this last Quiet Company record wouldn't have taken nearly as long. Also I think I'd watch a lot of movies and play a lot of video games while time was frozen. Basically, anything that I'd like to do but is not something I'll regret not doing more of on my deathbed, would be done inside a Time Freeze. I could spend all my actual time with my family and friends and making music, and still have time to watch as many movies, play as many games, read as many (comic)books, and sleep as much as I want.

Also, you could steal things if you were so inclined.

Now I spend my days in ever increasingly complicated ways, convincing myself of the rightness of each word I say.

I'm getting old, you know.

I was sick last week, and continue to be. My girls caught it and got to spend the holiday under the weather. By the weekend I was operating at about 85% so I tried to let Leah sleep as much as she could to knock the illness out, while I took care of Harper. We had a great time because she seemed to have no intention of letting her illness dictate her mood. I hope she's always like that.

She has such personality. Her laugh is simply one of the best things in the universe.

One of the things that I found/find so endearing about her mother is that Leah would do things to make herself laugh and if other people thought it was funny, then great. Sometimes, I catch Harper doing that, and it breaks my heart in the best possible way.

Leah and I spend a large part of the weekend watching Friday Night Lights, the TV show. I put off watching it because, frankly, the premise doesn't attract me. But the show is undeniably good, and speaking as someone who grew up in "small town, TX," they really nailed it. A lot of the characters were hard for me to like because they remind me so much of specific people I grew up around. So far we're into season 3 and aside from a strange, writer's strike induced, season 2 ending, the show is consistently good.

Leah and I recently watched Easy A, that movie with Emma Stone. It provided a few chuckles but the more I reflect on it, the more I hate it. I don't know if there was a single believable character. Clearly, the writer has never been or met a teenager. I was especially annoyed by the Christian characters. Speaking as someone who was part of the overly self-righteous, pious club in high school; nobody acts remotely like that. Amanda Bynes seemed to be playing a caricature of Mandy Moore's character in Saved (which I think is a great film), rather than making an attempt at any relatability. One of the things that I think the writers of Friday Night Lights do extraordinarily well, is capture the role that religion plays in the lives of small town teenagers in Texas. It's such a consistent undercurrent in their culture. The kids are flamboyantly impassioned one day and conveniently detached from it the next, which is what high school religion is mostly like. Peaks and valleys.

Anyway, good writing is good, bad writing is bad.

I don't really have any big goals for this year. We're going to be releasing a new record, which I'm excited about. Shortly after, we hope to release another EP.
Other than that, I'm hoping to:
-watch my daughter grow
-continue adoring my wife
-keep off the 20 lbs I've lost
-live simply
-simply live
-etc.

Easy peasy.

Looks like the fittest did a little surviving last night, huh?

Tomorrow is the last day of 2010.

Shit.

That felt like a cruelly short year, didn't it? I guess they all do. If I could have one wish... Well, I was about to say that I would wish for longer lives and more hours in the day, but that could be considered two wishes, and let's be honest, if I had one wish, it would be for infinite money, or superpowers, or ageless immortality, etc.

Anyway, I wish we lived longer and that there were more hours in the day.

I've started reading Chuck Klosterman's latest, Eating The Dinosaur. I like Klosterman a lot because he over-analyzes pop culture in the way that I would like to have time to. I guess the over all message of all the Klosterman that I've read is that, no matter how petty or materialistic pop culture seems, these things matter. I tend to agree.

I'm reminded of the summer of 2002. Everyone gets at least one big, earth shattering, soul crushing, heartbreak in their youth; or at least, they should. You know, at least one time where something or someone happens that calls into question everything you believe about yourself and the human condition. Mine came by way of a breakup with my first longtime girlfriend in the summer of 2002.

I got sad. Real sad. Less so because I still wanted to be with that girl, really, and more so because I had based all of my hopes and dreams around being with that girl. If we're being dramatic, I got suicidal. If we're being more realistic, I got dramatic about being sad and, like many children of the 90's/Nirvana fans, channeled that drama into lionizing suicide. Anyway, that's not important. What is important is what got me through those times. Was it supportive friends and family? Sure, somewhat. Was is faith in a higher power? Nope...well, kind of, maybe, I guess. Do The Beatles and/or Star Wars count as higher powers? If they do, then yes.

During that time I had two great revelations:
1. That the arcade in the mall had The Star Wars Arcade Game, and...
2. That the Beatles are amaaaaazing but I did not own their entire catalog.

So I made the decision that I would not buy any new music other than The Beatles until I had every album. Also I began most of my days by pillaging the couch cushions and our apartment's dusty corners, looking for quarters or any spare change that was equal to or greater than 25 cents.
I played the Star Wars arcade game almost everyday that summer. What has two thumbs and could (at that point) beat the Star Wars arcade game with one credit? This guy!

I know that those things didn't solve my problems, but they provided me with enough distraction from said problems that I was able to function, and that has worth, right? I think so.

Ian and Elana got me Futurama: Season 5 for Xmas and I've been watching that almost all day. For my money, Futurama is possibly the best animated show of all time, least ways, nothing else springs to mind that is better. I'm so glad it was resurrected. When I am cancelled, I, too, hope to be ressurected.

This was a great year. I had a really great time. Thanks for having me, and I'll definitely recommend you to my friends, Universe.

On why I would be a great superhero, or a really bad one, depending on your perspective.

I've been watching Smallville a lot lately. It's one of those shows that I always wanted to get into, and thought I would probably like, but never got around to. So now, I'm playing catch-up with the DVDs. I like the show a lot, but all the back and forth, will they/won't they between Clark and Lana gets a little maddening. It got me thinking about what I would do if I had super powers.

First off, I'd tell everyone. Well, not everyone, but several people. The whole idea of a secret identity keeping your family safe is kind of bullshit if you think about it. As long as you keep your inner circle small, you'll be alright. Just don't get caught by strangers doing super shit. But if there was a girl I really liked, I'd probably tell her the first time it became a problem. "Oh yeah, I know it was weird when I inexplicably ran out on our date the other night, but the reason is that I'm actually an alien and I have super powers as a result of your planet having a yellow sun and my home planet having a red one, and some people needed some super help. You understand right?" Or, "Oh yeah, I know I was a total dick to you the other day, but what had happened was that I'm actually an alien from another planet and as a result of the radiation from your yellow sun on my cells for all these years, different colored pieces of my home world, called 'Kryptonite,' affect me differently, and someone slipped me some of the 'red' and I just lost my shit." And maybe at some point, you could do the reasonable thing and say, "Hey friends of mine, who I've saved on countless occasions and all owe me a life debt or two, could you all please make a point to find and destroy as much Kryptonite as you can, as there seems to be a disproportionately large amount of it lying around? Thanks, it seriously harshes my mellow."

Here in the real world, to really be a good guy, you'd have to be willing to get your hands dirty. How easy would it be for Superman to fix a lot of the worlds big problems? First, I'd make a bunch of big, brightly colored, hand lettered signs that all said something along the lines of "Be nice or Superman will mess your shit up!!! :-)" and place them all around. And then I would proceed to kill all terrorists and warlords. Totalitarian? Kind of. Fascist? Maybe a little. Everyone thanking me later? You bet your sweet ass. The question you have to ask yourself is this: "Is it really noble of Batman to spare the Joker's life, knowing full well that the prison won't hold him forever, and it's only a matter of time before countless innocents will pay the price for Bats' nobility?" The answer is "no." The truly moral thing to do is to kill the Joker at the first opportunity.

One of the reasons I've wanted to get into Smallville is that one of my favorite heroes is now on the show.

Green Arrow is a badass, but when you think about it, only in a comic book could someone get away with being Green Arrow. Now, if some kid in New York got bit by a radioactive spider, developed spider powers, and started using those powers to fight crime, then we'd all think "Ok that person is crazy, albeit good intentioned." Because dressing up as a spider and swinging around on webs and beating up baddies with your bare hands is quirky and endearing.

Green Arrow's M.O. is to shoot people with a bow and arrow. Usually not even "trick" arrows. Just regular ol', "assault with a deadly weapon," arrows. Now, Batman may break several of the bones in your body and hospitalize you indefinitely, but he won't stab you! He won't shoot you in the arm! He won't run you through with anything!

...Green Arrow will, though. I don't know, just seems....well, it seems like Assault With A Deadly Weapon.

Looking forward to seeing him in Smallville, but I'm only on season 3. I can't see him and Clark getting along, somehow.

In the city of the future, it is difficult to concentrate. Meet the boss, meet the wife. Everybody's happy, everyone is made for life.

If you're looking for a significantly tasty burger, Phil's Icehouse on Burnet Rd. can supply you with one, no problem. Most of the band just took Paul to eat there for his birthday and I was impressed. I'm not often blown away by burgers, and I'm not sure if the term "blown away" really applies here either, but it was pretty damn good, nonetheless.

Anyway, Leah and I just got back from vacationing in Orlando, FL, a place I would probably avoid (bad drivers, bad radio, and an absurd amount of televangelists on TV) if it weren't for that little slice of heaven, The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. I've had such a boner to see this place since I first heard they were building it and it did not disappoint. My only complaint is that the excessive amount of muggles crowding the streets in their wife-beaters, fanny-packs, and daisy dukes sometimes takes you out of the moment. Everything is so well done and authentic, though, that it's hard to be unhappy about anything while walking the streets of Hogsmeade or the halls of Hogwarts. Leah and I spent the better part of two days mesmerized by all things Potter, and thanks to Butterbeer, I regained 3 of the five pounds I lost the week before. Oh well, back on track now. Now we just have to figure out how to see The Deathly Hallows as soon as possible.

Leah and I had such an amazing time together and it was nice to get to do whatever we wanted as a couple without having to worry about nap times or snack times, etc... That being said, we missed the hell out of Harper and I could literally feel my heart lighten when we saw her at the airport. I know I've probably said this before and it probably doesn't make for the best blogging (but fuck you, this is my blog and I do what I want), but I love being her father so much, it's ridiculous. She's getting so smart and funny, so full of personality. I can't wait til she's a teenager and screams how much she hates me in a public place.

Quiet Company has begun working on the third record, in earnest. I have no idea when we will actually be done with it, but it's going well, albeit, slowly. Well, it's actually not going slowly, it's just taken us a long time to get started. Everyone is really excited about the new material, and I'm very interested to see how it all turns out. It's a different direction for us, focusing more on guitars and drums than pianos and synthesizers. Basically, we're just trying to pick up where Staind left off.........

Our episodes of My Generation are now available for streaming at Hulu.com and ABC.com. We're in episode 3 (though if you blink, you might miss us), and "How Do You Do It?" has a really nice placement at the end of episode 4. Episode 6 has "The Biblical Sense Of The Word" in it somewhere but I haven't gotten to watch it yet.

Really excited to catch up on our TV shows, especially The Walking Dead.

The Life I Love

Today is the day!

If you didn't know, my wife is an amazing wedding photographer, and she and her partner are launching their website/business today. I'm so fucking proud of her. She is so talented and works so hard and deserves huge success, which I'm sure she is destined for.

Click on the banner and go hire her for all of your photography needs.


Leah's sister, Elana, and her boyfriend, Ian, have been visiting this week from London and we've been having a great time. We went to the hockey game on Tuesday, barbecued on Wednesday, ate at Trudy's downtown and went bowling/karaoke-ing on Thursday, went down to the South Congress bridge and saw the bats, ate at the Green Mesquite, and saw Red(2.5 out of 5 stars) at the Alamo Drafthouse on Friday, took Harper to a lame ass fall festival, and then hung out at the Quiet Company/Bob Schneider Halloween show at Antone's on Saturday (which was awesome and we were all zombies), and went trick or treating with the Davis family and then ate wings and watched The Walking Dead on Sunday. It was a great time and we're sad to see them go today.


I've never celebrated Halloween. I wasn't allowed to when I was a kid, for religious reasons, and then when I was old enough to do whatever I wanted, I just didn't give a shit anymore. Most people are shocked when I tell them that this weekend was the first time I've ever dressed up for the holiday; I still don't think it's that big of a deal. That being said, I did have a great time being a zombie at the show on Saturday. I do feel like I'll care more about it the more Harper enjoys it. I'm definitely looking forward to many years of trick or treating with her. She was a shark this year...


...But she has the makings of a Jedi.


I caught the end of the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Keep Fear Alive on Comedy Central. I'm sure I'll watch the rest of it eventually but I just wanted to comment on Jon's closing statements. They made me feel hopeful for humanity in America. Also adding to my hope was the fact that Glenn Beck's rally had 80,000 attendees to Jon Stewart's 280,000. Eat it, pig face.

Patriotism is something I've never excelled at. School spirit is the same thing. I just can't get all riled up with support for a team that has been assigned to me based solely on where I just happened to live. However, I find myself supporting the Texas Stars, which is the minor league hockey team in Cedar Park. I've been to 2 games so far this season and am planning on being at their game against Toronto this Saturday. Maybe the difference is that I chose to live here. I wasn't born here, I didn't move here with my parents, nor was I displaced here by some natural disaster. More importantly, I love it here. I love the people, I love the place, I love the community. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else (in Texas).

You have to let go, Jack.

Well, Lost is finally over. It will be missed. By me, and others, I'm sure. Whenever a show as good as Lost goes away, it's like when a good friend gets offered a great job in a far away land. You're happy for them and proud of all they've accomplished but you know you're going to miss them something fierce.
For the first 10 minutes after the finale, I was really "What the hell happened?!?!" But now that I've had time to wrap my head around it and understand it, I think it was pretty great. Whether or not it was a great ending for the entire series or just a great ending for season 6, I don't know. I can understand how a lot of people would be annoyed by how much stuff didn't get answered or didn't turn out to matter at all, but I think that we all got what we really need to get out of a TV show...entertainment. Even if the Dharma Initiative wasn't as important as we thought it was in the 2nd season, it was still cool to think about and guess at the whole time. So I'm as grateful to the show as is appropriate. Thanks, Lost, for 6 seasons of consistently interesting, weird, and incredibly fun entertainment. I don't know if anything will fill its shoes, especially with Battlestar having ended a long time ago.

If I could design my own purgatory or my own heaven, I think I'd make it just like real life, but where we're all ageless, in perfect health, and we don't ever have to worry about pipes leaking in your front lawn, or how much damage our cars do to the environment. That would be nice.

Looking forward to practice tonight, just because I want to try out my new pedal board. It's the little things, you know.

All that I'm asking tonight, is that I make it back home alive. No explosions, no crashes, no fights, I want to get back home.

I miss my girls and I'm ready for that next Doctor Who episode.

White boys gone wild up in dis bitch!

I'd like to thank my brother for introducing me to my latest obsession, Avatar: The Last Airbender.


I've finished season 1, and am 6 episodes into season 2. I wrote this show off for a long time because it just seemed like more mindless, kiddy, anime, geared towards selling me a toy or a card game, but that is not the case. It's, actually, a great story with great characters. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the movie. The show is really funny though, and the movie looks like it's more focused on being intense. I hope they find a balance.

I've also discovered that the new Domino's Pizza is pretty amazing.

I've also, also discovered that I enjoy dipping my pizza in salsa.

We played in Dallas on Friday, and I've very grateful for everyone that came out, but I'm forced to ask, "What the hell happened to Dallas?" It just seems like that scene gets more and more dead every time. Either that, or we're just getting steadily less popular. I'm not sure I want to know the truth.

After the show, we, and by "we" I mean Tommy, made the decision to stop and eat at a Waffle House full of drunk gangsta's who got a lot of enjoyment out of mocking our cracker asses. It was a long night. On the bright side, the Waffle House didn't burn my waffle, which is a first for me.

There is, at least, one place on Earth where laser tag and self loathing go hand in hand.

When I graduated high school, my mom threw a party for my friends and I at Lazer X, Longview, TX's only laser tag arena. I don't remember having any complaints. It was a very typical laser tag establishment; arcade games, black lights, soda pop, and of course, a huge laser tag arena. It was fantastic.

Leah and I went to Tyler this weekend to celebrate everyone born in or around February's birthdays. On Saturday, I came up with the idea of driving to Longview, a 30 minute drive, and playing laser tag at the ol' Lazer X. So after eating at Taqueria El Lugar (possibly the single greatest place to eat in the entire world), Seth, Kara, Leah, and I made the trek.

The Lazer X isn't what it used to be. Hell, Longview isn't what it used to be. Everytime I go back there, the town seems slightly more dead than the time before. We all bought two games of laser tag, which comes with 4 arcade tokens to use while you wait for the next game to start. There's only 5 arcade games left functioning at Lazer X and you've probably heard of none of them. When we finally got to play, there was about 12 people in the game. Lazer X only does free for all games, which I'm a fan of. I don't like this "shoot the base/get lots of points" type of bullshit. Where laser tag is concerned, I've got a blood lust that can only be quenched with open combat. The first game went by quick. Like, really quick, but the second started instantly, which I liked. But it, too, ended quickly. At one point in the game, I turned to flee from an aggressor and didn't realize that there was a metal grate directly to my right and now my face is sore.

In the first game, I got 2nd Place and in the second game, 5th. We were talking about how fast the games seemed and we asked the guy working the front desk, who we're pretty sure is also the owner, how long the games were. Five minutes. Are you serious, Lazer X?!?! Maybe that's why no one plays laser tag in Longview, guys. You've got to give us, at least, 15 minute games, like every where else in the world. It's hard to complain about anything when you're playing laser tag, but the Lazer X is probably the most depressing laser tag experience I've ever had. Still fun though.

We had a good weekend, but I kind of hate quick trips to east Texas, because I feel like I spend as much time in the car as anywhere else. But the people and the food are always great. Seth and I got to have a decently lengthy conversation about god, that I enjoyed. I might expand on the topics discussed later, but today I've spent too much time talking about laser tag, which is probably far more important anyway.

It's kind of strange when you think about how many of my favorite shows of all time have been cancelled by Fox. Firefly, Wonderfalls, Arrested Development, and Futurama are easily in my top 10 and all cancelled by Fox before their time. I'm rewatching Wonderfalls right now, and remembering how great it is.

"Everyone's a little queer..."

Early this morning, I stumbled upon this article about the TV show "Glee," and suddenly, I knew what I'd be blogging/laughing about today. Please go read the article. You don't have to watch the show to appreciate the level of willful ignorance and sheer stupidity that went into writing it, but it helps.

I won't dissect the entire article because I don't have all day/week, but here is my absolute favorite part.

"Another major fault with the show is its fawning celebration of teenage homosexuality and consumer indulgence. Again the show makes the case that accepting the gay lifestyle and making yourself as outrageous as possible will help you achieve something despite whatever social limitations you may have. Disregarding any sense of fair play, the show does not offer any alternative to the gay lifestyle argument. There are no teens cured of their relentless and wild male sex desires, there are no moral figures on hand to give a comforting hand, there are no popular boys who say, 'I don’t want to hurt my family anymore and I love Jesus, so I am going to stop doing gay things with guys in the bathroom.'"

WHAAATTT??!!!? Partner that statement with the "About the author" section that comes after he reveals that he thinks way too much about the Golden Girls:
Stephenson Billings is an Investigative Journalist, Motivational Children's Party Entertainer and Antique Soda Bottle Collector all in one special, blessed package! Fanmail me Stephenson@Christwire.org !

Are you laughing yet? I hope Stephenson Billings' closet is comfortable, because I don't guess he's coming out of it anytime soon.

So basically, the argument that this piece is making is this:
"Of course, all men would love to fuck guys. What could be more inviting than that sweet, sweet, sex with another man? But we don't do it! We make the moral choice! The only reason we don't have gay sex is because it makes the baby Jesus cry. That is the ONLY reason. Obviously, it would be awesome...but only awful people succumb to those relentless and wild male sex desires."

Also, will someone please tell these idiots, that there is no alternative to the gay lifestyle. If you're gay, you're gay. I don't think there's much you can do about it. Stephenson, gay people can't stop being gay any more than you can stop wanting to collect antique soda bottles or, (I'll humor you) being "heterosexual." (See, I put it in quotes because, based on the information I have here and the piece you wrote, I don't think you are.)

It's not just homosexuality that the article takes issue with, it's any kind of sexuality in teenagers. Well, guy, have you ever met a teenager? They're very interested in sex, most of them are having it, and all of them are talking about it. Girls, boys, jocks, nerds, gays, straights, all of them. It's the one thing they all have in common. This article is full of the sort of sexual repression that the church is famous for.

The other day, my boss and I were talking and he mentioned that he never met a Baptist girl that wasn't sexually repressed. I was raised in a Baptist church, and I would say that that's probably true. Looking back, it's kind of crazy how much energy and effort was put into convincing us that sex was evil and easily the worst decision we could possibly make. It was very unhealthy. Don't get me wrong, I do think that it's generally not a good idea for teenagers to have sex. But my church and school taught "abstinence only" and I don't think that's wise.

I have no idea what I'm going to tell my daughter. Her mother and I saved ourselves for each other. Leah did because she had self esteem, I did because I was sexually repressed. I do think that sex is a sacred thing. Not because of some spiritual hoopla, but just because it's the most intimate thing two people can share and I don't think you should just give that shit away. Well, now I've gone off on a tangent.

Anyway, read that article, it's chocked full of ridiculous viewpoints and the idiotic ramblings of a sexually repressed, probably self loathing closet homosexual. It would be sad if it weren't so damn funny.

Well, it's still sad.

Inappropriate Muppet jokes.

For my money, the best show currently on TV is Community. Modern Family is a very close second. If you're not watching these shows, you really should be. The best shows are shows that have strong ensembles, I think. Arrested Development, The Office, Firefly, Glee, Parks and Rec, Battlestar Galactica, etc. I really like Dexter too, but I don't feel like the whole ensemble is strong. Really, Dexter, Angel, Rita, and the Trinity Killer are the only good actors, and two of them are dead after last season. Speaking of Trinity, creepy ass John Lithgow has plagued my dreams twice in the last week. I guess because of the Golden Globes because we finished watching Dexter weeks ago.

Here's some advice:
1. Tomorrow is the last day to vote for Quiet Company in the Austin Chronicle Best of '09 poll and we'd really like you to do it. Please go here and vote for us for "band of the year" and "album of the year" and then just write our name anywhere else you feel is appropriate.
2. Watch Community tonight.
3. Don't listen to Owl City.

IntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegrityIntegr

I'm not really a fan of the late night shows on the big networks. In high school I went through a phase where I watched Letterman pretty regularly and shortly after, a friend showed me how awesome Conan is. I've always hated Leno. I don't think he's funny at all. Pretty obnoxious actually. Now in my 27th year of life on the question of "who is the best out of Leno, Letterman, or Conan?" the answer is "Jon Stewart."

Conan deserves the Tonight Show because it was promised to him. I am a firm believer in people doing what they say they will do and this seems to be a pretty clear cut case of that being the problem. To my knowledge, Conan has upheld his end of the agreement, and Jay seems to be under the impression that he can make up the rules as he goes along. I'm sure it's complicated with money and ratings, but I'm not interested in hearing that argument. Conan did his part, now NBC needs to honor their commitments. I heard about Jimmy Kimmel (who's also better than Leno), taking Leno to task on his own show last night and I can't wait to see the footage. I've heard some people saying it was staged but I don't really think so. We'll see, I guess.

When I was in youth group at my church growing up, we had a saying that I'm sure is popular in churches all over the world, "You may be the only Jesus some people ever meet."

People sometimes ask me why I bother spending my time in religious discussions with people that show no sign whatsoever of even being able to see any perspective but their own, and I think of that saying, except now it's "I may be the only skeptic some people ever meet." The only critical examination their beliefs ever get, the only voice of reason, etc. Of course, it's discouraging how little difference these conversations ever seem to make but I was encouraged the other day by my friend and Quiet Company manager, Paul. I was telling him about some of the conversations I'd had recently and I said something like "...it doesn't matter what the evidence suggests, they've made up their mind to believe what they want in spite of it." And then Paul said "Yeah, but I would've said the same thing about you a couple of years ago."

So I believe that people can come around because I did, though sometimes I forget that I, too, was once "blind but now I see" as the song says.
I'm currently involved with such a discussion via Facebook with a girl I went to school with and it has been pretty irksome and discouraging at points. I think the most irksome thing was in her email that I received this morning that essentially said "I don't know if you've ever REALLY searched for god, because the bible says that if you do, you'll find him. So if you haven't found him, surely you haven't really searched for him." Circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works because circular reasoning works!

She obviously doesn't know me very well and never has so I tried to soothe my ire and countered with "I don't know if you've ever really looked critically for god because if you had, I believe you'd have found him somewhat less than present." Somewhat perfectly, as I type this, the shuffle on my Ipod randomly started playing "Godless" by The Dandy Warhols. Maybe that's an ironical sign from god that he does exists...? What does the bible say about god's appreciation for irony?

Bill O'Reily is an asshole. Also, bears shit in the woods.

If you watch Fox "News" for any reason other than comedic value, then you deserve to have your head filled with polarizing, sensationalist, right wing tripe. Its a testament to Bill's journalistic integrity that instead of bringing on a representative from the American Humanist Association he brings on 2 other Fox "News" talking heads, presumably so they can all agree with each other. That is, after all, the point of Fox: so people who are too conservative for their own good get to hear someone shouting out what they think on TV, regardless of whether or not what they say is factual, objective, or responsible. As long as you're completely sure you're right, no matter what and the truth be damned, you have a place at a 24 hour news network in America.

Since no humanist was present to answer Bill's nonsensical questions, I'll do it.
-Humanist groups have been putting up signage like this all over Europe for quite some time now, and now American groups are starting to.
-Yes, they'll put them up in July.
-Yes, they'll put them up around Easter.
-Yes, they'll put them up around Ramadan.
-No, we don't hate the baby Jesus...moron.
-No, those signs are no more of an affront to religious groups than nativity scenes all over the place are to Muslims or Jews.
-The sign says, "No God? No problem. You can be good without god." it doesn't say "If you believe in god, you're a f**king moron! And we hate you. And we hate your stupid family." What, exactly, is wrong with people reaching out to the like minded for a sense of community? Isn't that what church is? The fact is that we live in a hugely religious society, and its not uncommon for non-believers to feel like they're alone in their beliefs, especially around the holidays.
-Most of us celebrate some form of the holiday anyway so, no, you arogant child, we're not "jealous" of what a good time religious people have around the holiday.
-Christmas, like Easter, is an originally pagan holiday that Christianity hijacked somewhere along the way. So, if you want to get into a game of "who was here first?" the Christians will find themselves pretty far back in the line.

It is trully sad how much Bill O'Reilly depends on his audience being ignorant little sheep. A loud voice does not a sound argument make.

I reached for the last one they had, but so did another man. As I rained blows upon him, I realized there had to be another way.

I feel like we had a pretty eventful weekend but I can't remember anything about Friday or Saturday now that I sit down to write about it. I remember that on Saturday, after Harper went to bed, Leah and I watched Up and in the first 10 minutes of the movie I was crying. Not just teary eyed but flat out crying, even more than I did the first time I saw it. How did I get to this point? At one time, I was the guy that never cried at movies, but since Leah and I have been together I've cried while watching The Notebook, Jersey Girl, Up and even Homeward Bound. Yeah, the one about the pets.

At some point this weekend we were informed that our song "Its Better To Spend Money Like There's No Tomorrow Than Spend Tonight Like There's No Money," was going to be on the season premier of, like, the 3rd worst show on American television, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. So that was weird. Its cool to have your song played on national television but strange to have it associated with a show like that. The shows on the E! Network don't credit the music at any point during the show either so I'm not sure how much good it really does a band, but oh well.

In equally scary news, Harper figured out how to pull herself up this weekend, which means that there is now a lot of falling in our immediate future. We lowered her mattress in her crib so she doesn't jump out but now we're worried about her pulling herself up in her crib and then falling into the sides. She only learned to crawl a week ago! Why is she growing so fast? I guess she's got nothing else better to do.

Leah and I went back to the studio on Sunday to retrack her vocals and I think we're all going to be really glad we did. I think she was more relaxed this time and I think that will show on the recording.

I love my wife. Sometimes, I'm really overwhelmed by how extremely fortunate I am to have her as a partner. She is the best wife and mother that Harper and I could ask for. I hope that when Harper's old enough to understand these things, she doesn't take it for granted how lucky she is to be loved the way Leah loves her.

The holiday season is upon us. Leah and I have just about finished all our shopping and we'll be going to east Texas this weekend to celebrate with our family. Being that this is my first holiday as a Humanist, I guess I won't technically be celebrating Christmas. I'll be celebrating Festivus. I just need to find a pole before we get on with the Feats of Strength and the Airing of Grievances.

I got a lot of problems with you people! And now you're gonna hear about it!

A priest, a rabbi, and an imam walk into a bar...All are offended by what they see.

Today is Blasphemy Day, in case you didn't know.

As a non-religious person, let me say that this is one of the most needless "holidays" a person could possibly celebrate. Sure, there's absolutely nothing wrong with being open about how ridiculous you may find some or all religions, and mocking them among friends, but how is that different from any other day. I'm just worried that people are going to be using this as an opportunity to be assholes and that is counter-productive. Most religious people already kind of think that openly non-religious people are jerks and the fact that we have a day dedicated to blaspheming the things they hold most sacred isn't going to change their minds. All that to say that I will not be taking part in Blasphemy Day.

I'm not in any way saying we shouldn't criticize, its just that dedicating a holiday to Blasphemy seems unwise and unkind. You catch more flies with honey, and all that.

Yesterday, I finished the book I was reading before lunch and then had nothing to read the rest of my lull of a day. So I was excited to get a new book from the library last night but lo and behold, I forgot it in my haste to get to work this morning. If I wasn't so tired, I'd kick myself.

Leah and I have been hooked on the show, Dexter. Its a strange thing to be cheering on a serial killer, but hey, good TV is good TV.

Our great war is a spiritual war. Our Great Depression is our lives.

I think my two favorite new shows this season are definitely "Glee" and "Modern Family." Leah and I watched the premier of Modern Family last night and were laughing about it long after it was over. And I'm talking about belly laughs. If every episode is as good as the first one, we could have another Arrested Development on our hands. The first episode of Glee didn't amaze me but I'm loving it more as the characters are developed.

Yay TV!
Yay cold weather!
Yay rain!
Yay my yard coming back to life!

Some of our best friends, The Rocketboys are releasing their new record, 20,000 Ghosts, tonight at Stubb's in Austin. Its going to be a late show but I'm going to drag my bones down there and support. I'm sure it will make getting up for work tomorrow really fun.

I wouldn't say I'm the only liberal at my work because a few of the guys are very liberally minded when it comes to social issues, but on fiscal issues I'm the only one that leans left. It makes for some interesting conversations. Today, I just don't feel like talking about it with them, though. I'm, honestly, not that informed anymore because I guess I don't really care that much. All I know is when I hear people on the left talk, I typically like what I hear and when I hear people on the right talk, I typically don't like what I hear. Everyone is so concerned with the economy but I'm wondering if it makes any difference to fix the economy if we're going to continue to participate in a culture that is killing the world and forcing people into unfulfilling lives. My life is fulfilling because I have an amazing family and I also get to make music, but if I was just a guy without those things and all I did was work this job to earn money to buy goods and services, I would probably feel like my life was pretty meaningless. I wonder how many people are like that in America, how many in the world? I think the answer is to stop participating in the culture. The big question is how to do that. Any suggestions?

Nothing goes on.

I'm watching the Lord Of The Rings today. Its great and all, but there are some really, REALLY, cheesy effects in it. I'm not just now noticing them. I remember the first time I saw it, thinking that there was some incredibly lame cinematography going on. All the sets and makeup and character design are flawless but still.

I also watched a lot of Newsradio today, which I think is one of the most underrated sitcoms of all time.

Not all wizards are good, Harry.

The next two months are going to incredibly crazy for Leah with every weekend having at least 2 weddings to shoot. This weekend was our last one for two months where we could relax and do nothing together. We took full advantage of it and it was lovely. We spent all our time playing with Harper, napping, eating, or watching True Blood. We're now completely caught up on True Blood. We really like that show.

Did anyone ever watch the show Carnivale? It was on Showtime or HBO, I can't remember. It started kind of slow but turned out to be one of the most interesting and original things I've ever seen.

I need to go to the library or the book store. I've been reading The Sirens of Titan again, and while it is a brilliant book, it hasn't been hitting the spot. I need something fictional with lots of adventure. Any suggestions?