Toeing The Line Between Fun And Responsibility

There are many reasons to love South Dakota.  There is no state income tax.  The Black Hills are beautiful both this and every other time of year.  It houses some of the most fertile farmland in the United States.  And it is super cheap to register your car.  While these are all excellent reasons to love my home state, there is another that outshines them all.

Relaxed laws regulating the use of fireworks, at least in some towns.

That's right.  This is a 4th of July post.

Yes I know the 4th was last week.  This is my life now.

First I should give some you some of my pyrotechnical background.

As a child I had very little exposure to anything other than sparklers.  I grew up in Rapid City and was always told that fireworks were banned in city limits for fear of starting a wildfire.  My mother never much cared for them, so they weren't a part of our midsummer celebration.  Before my late teen years I count only two experiences involving fireworks.  Once was at the home of a family friend, while my mother and stepfather looked on in disapproval.  The other was with my father, watching him fire off a few for my entertainment on a hill overlooking Fort Pierre before being shooed away by a police officer.

It wasn't until I was a young man of fifteen years, flush with the disposable income of a professional part-time dishwasher, that I was able to purchase seasonal explosives for my own use.  Of course, the fact that they were illegal in town was part of the thrill of the occasion for me and my friends.  Most of our time was spent finding a suitably hidden location for our combustible exploits. Each of us in the group was a young Prometheus, fleeing the wrath of those in power in order to experience the thrill of recreational fire.

Since those days I have grown up and found a career in the casino entertainment industry.  One of the realities of said vocation is that holidays are for working.  We are at our busiest on days traditionally reserved for leisure.  And so, like many other holidays, my Independence Days are spent at work, helping other people relax and have some fun.

I've been blessed in many ways to be at the casino where I currently work.  Not the least of those blessings has been my schedule.  Along with great days off and phenomenal hours I was not scheduled to work on the 4th this year.  This is the first Independence Day I have not had to work in ten years.  That predates the both my marriage and the the birth of my oldest child.

I was finally able to spend the 4th with my family and it.. was.. AWESOME!  We spent the morning touring potential homes and had a great family lunch at one of our favorite restaurants.  We returned home to buy fireworks and start putting dinner together.  My Princess and I put together a short pre-dinner home fireworks display to the great enjoyment of Chunky Monkey.  Then we feasted on grilled brats with all the traditional summer sides.  After Princess and I ignited the rest of our fireworks it was time to put my son into bed.  Great-Grandma stayed home with Chunky Monkey and the rest of the family headed off to the city baseball field for the fireworks extravaganza.

Extravaganza is really the only applicable word here.  The local show in this small town is absolutely world-class in every way.  Put on by a local business owner (who also holds a Pyrotechnics Guild International license) at no cost to the city, this annual show is always the talk of this small town.  I had heard it described before but until this year I had never experienced it.  It began with a ground show.  This year's theme was "Godzilla".  Three different Godzilla monsters were made out of fire.  They attacked Tokyo, also made of fire, only to face defeat at the hands of a battalion of tanks also made out of, you guessed it, FIRE.

And that was just the first act.

It was followed by an hour-long aerial show featuring massive sky-flowers, ground based fountains, and explosions that could be felt deep in the gut.  All this was launched a mere 450 or so feet from where we sat.  Calling it grandiose would be an understatement.

Ears still ringing and slightly singed, we finally staggered back to bed at a completely indecent hour.  It was easily the best 4th of July I have ever experienced.

No matter where I end up in life, no matter how far away I make my home, I will always try to return back here in midsummer.  These folks know how to celebrate the 4th.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 15

Day 15: What song do you hate the most?

Easy answer, but I couldn't tell you why.  I've hated this song from day one and I always will.  Thankfully it is no longer popular and I doubt it will ever make it into "classic 80's" airplay.

Horrible song, Horrible Band. 'Nuff Said.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 14

Day 14: What was your first music purchase?

That one I remember well.  I had just started seventh grade and turned thirteen a few months before.  I had some birthday money left over that my mom said I could use to buy whatever cassette I wanted.  I don't remember what led me to choose this album.  I wasn't a fan of the band (yet) and don't remember hearing of them until I got the album.  Everybody I knew was snatching up Nirvana's Nevermind which had come out a few weeks before and I wanted to try something different.

Here's My favorite song from that album.

That's right.  Despite my sheltered Midwestern upbringing and all-around uncoolness during my adolescence, I was a fan of Pearl Jam before they hit the big time.

Fun Fact: Despite the general assumption that Pearl Jam rode Nirvana's coattails to success, Ten came out weeks before Nevermind, it just took longer to become popular in the mainstream.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 13

Day 13: What son represents the 00's to you?

What kind of question is this?  The 90's were hard enough to try to sum up.  The first decade of the 21st century is was too recent to be able to pick a song that represents it well.

So instead, here's one of my favorite songs and videos of the decade.

There you go.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 12

Day 12: What song defines the 90's for you?

I'll start with the song this time, then do my best to defend it.

Here's how I figure it.  This song protests "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland which began in the 60's but pretty much wrapped up in the 90's.  The 90's also say the popularization of Grunge music with it's power chords and melancholy lyrics, which I think are well represented in this song.  I also wanted to showcase one of the few Irish bands to be popular in the US in the 90s.  I can only think of U2, The Corrs, The Cranberries, and Sinead O'Connor that fit that criteria.

The 90's also say the decline of the female rock vocalist.  There has been a shortage of them for the past 10 years, which is as depressing a fact as I can think of.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 11

Day 11: What song defines the 80's to you?

Holy cow.  I thought the defining song of the 70's was hard.  Just an FYI, the following albums all came out during the 80's

Appetite for Destruction
Thriller
Hysteria
Slippery When Wet
Purple Rain
Like A Virgin
Back in Black
The Joshua Tree
Open Up and Say AHHH
1984
Pump
Born in the USA

Every one of those is iconic in it's own genre, and a few of them rise above classification.  It was during the 80's that I became aware of music as an art form, and the music of that decade was the soundtrack of my childhood.

Here's the 80's defining song, IMHO:

David Lee Roth was the anthropomorphic personification of the 80's.  Period.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 10

Day 10: What song defines the 70's to you.

This is actually a pretty tough one, since for me the 70 are experienced only through other people's experiences. So here's what I got for you.

So here's why.  The 70's were a fantastic time for music.  Many of the elder statesmen of music, all genres, were in their heyday during that time.  There was a lot going on.  Disco, while not my favorite type of music, could not be ignored during this decade.

Pinball Wizard encapsulates much of the feeling of the 70's.  The style and theatrics are a nod to the disco culture, but The Who can only be defined as a rock band.  Even Elton John, who's performance is the most iconic, was known at the time as a rock musician, rather than the glam pop persona he is today.

It is not the best Who song, nor is it my favorite song of the decade, but I think it represents the decade quite well.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 9

Day 9: What is the earliest song you can remember from your childhood?

There are a lot of them.  Some I've mentioned in earlier posts. I remember this one from my preschool days.  I have no idea why it was popular with a bunch of four-year-old kids, but there you go.  It just goes to show that some things were "going viral" long before the internet existed.

Who knew John Oates, Kenny Loggins, Grizzly Adams, and Huey Lewis could make something so iconic together?

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 8

Day 8: What was the last song you listened to?

Actually, I've been so busy that I haven't had too much time to listen to music.  The last time may have been on Monday when I had to drive across town on an errand for he church.  I know for a fact that I listened to this song on the drive.

This song is rapidly becoming my favorite Killers track.  I like the dissonance that lurks just below the surface.  And you just can't go wrong with Lou Reed

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 7

Day 7: What song do you play when you're chilling out?

One thing I find as a grown up is that I rarely have time to chill out.  One of the reasons that I'm doing this 30 day blog challenge is that I don't have time right now to sit and type out a long post.  So I have to think back to the last time I've been able to just relax and enjoy some tunes.

That being said, I do feel more calm and relaxed when listening to some songs.  Here are a couple of them.

I love the lyrics to that one. "We lived in the noise and the sweet amber poison."  Reminds me of good times with good friends.

And Leonard Cohen is simply the coolest person ever.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 6

Day 6: What Song do you play when you're angry?

I've never considered myself an "angry person".  When I do get frustrated or upset, it usually passes very quickly.  I find that if I spend some time yelling at people in my mind, I am much more patient when I deal with them face-to-face.  That being said there are some great angry songs out there.

Again, I feel that I need to post two songs here.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 5

Day 5: What song do you play when you're feeling sad?

Elton John had it right when it comes to sad songs.  It feels so good to hurt so bad, and suffer just enough to sing the blues.  Melancholy songs have been a staple of my listening palate ever since the days of puberty.  Even today, when I am for the most part happier than ever with my life, I still get down occasionally.  When I do, I love nothing more than to turn on some music and listen to the sorrows of others.

As an added bonus, here's another great one.

30 Day Music Challenge: Day 3

Not much time to talk today, but here is the song with the highest play count on my iTunes, as well as being a solid contender for my favorite song.

One of the best rock songs I've ever heard by a band who actually harmonizes!  Awesome!

Thirty Day Music Challenge: Day Two

Day Two of the Thirty Day Music Challenge.  What song was #1 on your birthday?

There you have it.  Boogie Oogie Oogie by A Taste of Honey.

I remember having a conversation with my daughter.  She was asking which decade her family was born in.  Her grandparents told her that they were born in the 50's, my wife told her that she was born in the 80's.  When she asked me what decade I was born in I had to answer, "Daddy was born in the 70's.  That's why I'm so funky."

Funky Indeed.

See you tomorrow for day three of the music challenge.

Thirty Day Music Challenge: Day One

Hello Everybody.  Thanks for stopping by.  

Music has been a huge part of my life for a very long time.  The first time I remember completely losing myself while rocking out to a song was when I was five years old.  The song was "Robbie Robot" from Up With People's 1983 album, Live in Concert.  I got the tape as a gift from my grandmother and listened to it on my Fisher Price Cassette player.  I can still sing the chorus to that goofy song.

I saw this daily blog challenge on Cooper Avenue, a mommy blog that my wife introduced me to.  I've been exceptionally busy these past few days and it doesn't look to be letting up for several more weeks, so hopefully this will allow me to put out some moderately interesting stuff even if I'm too busy to sit down and write a full post.

Here is the outline for the 30-day challenge.

MUSIC CHALLENGE
Day 1 – What Is Your Favorite Song Right Now?
Day 2 – What Song That Was No 1 When You Were Born?
Day 3 – What Song Has The Highest Play Count On Your iTunes (Or Other Music Player)?
Day 4 – What Song Do You Play When You’re Feeling Happy?
Day 5 – What Song Do You Play When You’re Feeling Sad?
Day 6 – What Song Do You Play When You’re Angry?
Day 7 – What Song Do You Play When You're Chilling Out?
Day 8 – What Was The Last Song You Listened To?
Day 9 – What Is The Earliest Song You Can Remember From Your Childhood?
Day 10 – For You What Song Defines The 70’s?
Day 11 – For You What Song Defines The 80’s?
Day 12 – For You What Song Defines The 90’s?
Day 13 – For You What Song Defines The 00’s?
Day 14 – What Song Was Your First 7”/12”/Cass/CD/mp3 purchase?
Day 15 – What Song Do You Hate The Most?
Day 16 – Post A Song From Your Favourite Artist/Band
Day 17 – Post A Song That You Want The World To Hear
Day 18 – What Song Makes You Want To Sing Out Loud?
Day 19 – What Song Makes You Want To Dance?
Day 20 – What Song Makes You Want To Rock Out?
Day 21 – What Song Is Your Biggest Guilty Pleasure?
Day 22 – What Song Gets Stuck In Your Head The Most?
Day 23 – What Song Reminds You Of A Person?
Day 24 – What Song Reminds You Of A Place?
Day 25 – What Song Reminds You Of A Happy Moment In Your Life?
Day 26 – What Song Reminds You Of A Sad Moment In Your Life?
Day 27 – What Song Would You Like Played At Your Wedding/Union?
Day 28 – What Song Would You Like Played At Your Funeral?
Day 29 – What Song Would You Consider To Be The “Soundtrack Of Your Life”?
Day 30 – Looking Back On Your Answers, What Is Your All Time Favorite Song?

So here goes.

My favorite song right now is probably Like A Friend from Pulp's This is Hardcore album.  It's just a fantastic Brit-pop song with a great hook.  I'll attach a video after this disclaimer:

I hate Pulp videos.  I hate seeing how douchey their lead singer looks and acts as he sneers his way through the song.  Nevertheless it is probably my favorite song right now and it has been for several years.  "You are the cut that makes me hide my face. You are the party that makes me feel my age." is, in my humble opinion, one of the best lyrics ever written.  

Here's the vid:

See you tomorrow with the number one song when I was born.

One Mustn't Always Be Productive

As a child I was an avid newspaper reader.  Every morning would be spent leaning over the comics with my cereal bowl rested squarely on the horoscopes.  Though the decline of the newspaper medium is well documented, I have been pleasantly surprised to see the drawn comic is thriving in it's new electronic form.  Here are a few of my favorites in no particular order.

Penny Arcade- This is one of my old standby webcomics.  I've been reading them regularly since 2000.  Of course, they are based on one of my favorite subjects, video games.  Tycho puts out a quality blog as well, but since my duties as a father and husband don't allow me to keep up with technology most of it goes over my head.

Girl Genius- I just discovered this one, and it is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  I first heard about Phil and Kaja Foglio during my high school days where the Magic: The Gathering cards that boasted their artwork stood out from the group.  Girl Genius has a triple threat of great story, great humor, and the Steampunk genre that I find irresistible.  Plus the talking cat and Jagerkin.  I could go on.

Walking The Lethe- Definitely for grown-ups.  This story offers what appears to be a modern day take on Dante's Inferno.  The artwork is striking, and the story runs deep.

XKCD- If you haven't heard of this one, you should definitely check it out.  This is a fun one that I often share with my wife and family, and has been the source of several popular internet memes.  Randall Munroe can be funny, satirical, and touching all in a three panel format.

Sinfest- Another old-school panel comic.  This one explores ideas behind religion and morality in the modern world.  The previous sentence makes it seem a lot more serious than it actually is.

Deep Fried-  Jason Yungbluth has put out this surreal and politically charged work since 2001, but he really hit something in mid-2008 when he began to exclusively draw the Weapon Brown storyline.  Weapon Brown is a Frank Miller style action comic set in a post apocalyptic world.  It is also the name of the main character, though he sometimes calls himself "Chuck".  He is a beefed-up and pissed off version of Charlie Brown.  All of the story are parodied versions of newspaper comic characters, and identifying the characters in the background is half the fun.  Note: Weapon Brown is NOT for kids.

So every morning I still have the joy of reading my comics over breakfast.  But now I have to be extra careful not to spill my milk on the computer.  I hope you enjoy some of these as much as I do.

Daddy Rants: A Battle of Wit and Wordplay

I have, on occasion, use this forum to delineate my thoughts on common behaviors that I encounter in my everyday life.  While for the most part, I am an active participant in the lives of my family and close friends, I have always enjoyed people watching.  I try to mitigate my judgmental tendencies with self-deprecating humor.  It is only thanks to my many foibles that I am able to identify those I see around me.

Today's subject is particularly near and dear to my heart.  It is a pastime with a long and storied history and it fits particularly well with the technology of today.  It has many aficionados and I count myself among their number.  The difference is that I at least recognize it for what it is and list it among my guilty pleasures.

I am speaking, of course, about heated debate of a political or controversial nature.

My family, particularly on my father's side, is the reason that I enjoy passionate conversation.  As my wife will tell you, getting us all together is an experiment in multi-target hearing and would be the subject of serial nightmares for any court stenographer.  It could also be compared to standing in a room full of agitated ducks.

Facebook in particular has molded itself well to the ideal format for an argument.  The ability for anybody to write out comments in reaction and counter-reaction to somebody's statement fulfills everything an accomplished arguer could ask for.  You can review and research your opinion as you are creating it, and your opponent's statement is conveniently written out for you to pick apart point by point.

See, the point of debate, especially online, is not to sway the opinion of your opponent or audience.  The point is to flex your intellectual muscle and show off those syntactic skills.  When engaged in a good debate I am so consumed with finding more compelling and eloquent ways to defend my mindset that my audience is rendered inconsequential and my opponent exists only to postulate more philosophical clay pigeons for the double-barreled shotgun of my logic.

It is very similar to blogging.

It is also very similar to masturbation.

Though there are many many more similes to be drawn between using Facebook for passionate debate and the act of self-pleasure I will abandon this line of thought. After all, my mother sometimes reads this blog.

Here are a few reason why Facebook is the perfect forum for matching wits against the masses:

1. The 'like' button is available on everything.  This allows instant feedback on the brilliance (or lack therof) contained in an argument.  For an audience member, it is the equivalent of murmuring general approval.

2. The ability to see individual threads of specific argument is far superior to the # tagging that Twitter employs

3. The ability to see and measure the quality of conversation simply by the number of comments it generates.  I have never seen a post that earned more than twenty comments without being overcome with curiosity and seeing what all the fuss was about.

4. The notification feature allows you to immediately know when somebody has responded, either in agreement or in their continued ignorance.

Regardless of its inherent selfishness and the narcissism it implies, I enjoy both blogging and engaging in online debates.  And while I appreciate each and every one of my readers (especially those of you who 'like' my Facebook page) I know that even if there was nobody out there reading this I would still have to write it, for I have tasted the sweet nectar of sermonizing, and God help me I like it.

Added bonus- embedded video!

This is the job for which I have been searching my whole life.