A couple things

Happy New Year everybody!

I've been thinking about a lot of things today. And yeah, I know, everyone's a little more thoughtful and introspective than they usually are on New Years Day. That's not what I'm getting at, though--I woke up this morning without a hangover (weird) and was able to quickly get past all those pesky, optimistic thoughts of self-improvement. :)

I have no resolutions this year.

That isn't to say I have no goals for this year--quite the opposite is true. I think 2013 is going to be the greatest year of my life. Really.

I woke up this morning with a strange feeling of calmness. It was off putting, and for a few minutes I just stayed very still in my bed and stared up at the ceiling thinking about why that might be. Then I tried thinking about all those irrelevant, nagging issues that so frequently seem to find their way into the forefront of my consciousness. I even started thinking about philosophical issues, all those inane epistemological issues I devoted so much time and energy to studying in college--the ones that still drive me crazy no matter how hard I try to convince myself that they are pointless to think about--and I still wasn't even the slightest bit angry.

I even tried thinking about the ongoing philosophical debate over the distinction between stuff and things--this issue always makes me angry; it's so stupid, and yet so complicated.

After that failed to raise my blood pressure, I was pretty sure I had died in my sleep. I checked my pulse, then went into the bathroom to see if I still had a reflection.

So anyway, I guess 2013 is off to a good start.

Trippin'

I was just inspired by a Facebook post to learn about flavor tripping. ... Weird.

According to the aforementioned blog: "Flavor Tripping is a ruthlessly-badass bastion of good taste." ... Indeed.

This NY Times article explains it a little more coherently: A Tiny Fruit That Tricks The Tongue.

Anyone Can Play Guitar

I've been playing the guitar quite a bit the past couple weeks. My callouses are coming back! :)

For a long time now (jeez, it's been about a decade) I've gone through phases of playing a lot for a few weeks or a few months at a time, and then setting my guitar aside and ignoring it until some sort of inspiration inevitably strikes, and I start playing again.

I happened upon a really good blog post on the blog of Tim Ferriss this morning, and it reminded me just how important it was for me to find practice material that I actually enjoyed playing in order to really learn how to play the guitar. For me, that was key. Focusing too much on music theory and compositions I didn't like playing took the fun out of playing the saxophone for me while I was in high school. I've tried to learn from past musical experiences when learning the guitar.

Anyway, Tim's blog has a really good post about learning to play the guitar: How to Finally Play the Guitar: 80/20 Guitar and Minimalist Music. The fret climb exercise he recommends is one of the same exercises recommended to me by a guitar teacher I had for a guitar class at a community college. I remember it really helped me learn to move my fretting hand around the fret board more accurately.

As Tim's post mentions, it's really amazing just how simple most pop songs are. Three or Four chords are all you really need to know to strum along with a lot of popular music.

Speaking of music, there's a song that I can't get out of my head. I heard it on KEXP for the first time a couple months ago. Then I heard it at the bowling alley last week. Now it seems to be for some reason deeply embedded in my brain. It's a catchy tune. And the video is hilarious:

Paperback writer

Paradise Squandered is now available as a paperback. You can purchase it by clicking here. You will be able to find it on Amazon.com as a paperback, and as a Kindle version, by the end of the week.

Thank you everyone for all of your support!

Published

Paradise Squandered, by debut novel, has been published by SmashWords! Check it out, and help support my writing so I can quit my day job! :)

Paradise Squandered can by purchased at Smashwords.com

Father's Day

Jack is growing up fast. I know this sentiment may seem extremely cliched, but really, it's one thing to hear about how fast children grow up, but it's quite another thing to witness it firsthand.

This is what Jack looked like the day he was born:

A few minutes old

Today he is only one year old, but he has already become a little person with his own goals and ideas about the world.

At the market

It's amazing to watch him explore and figure things out for himself. Through trial and error, he learns new things every day, and I learn new things from him.

Backyards are fun

It is indescribable how much love I have for this little guy. Even though helping him grow up is harder than anything else I've ever done, it is also by far the most meaningful thing I've done with my life.

Trivial

"Make him laugh and he will think you a trivial fellow, but bore him in the right way and your reputation is assured."

- Somerset Maugham

Christopher Buckley paraphrased this quote on NPR earlier this afternoon while I ate an apple in my car outside Starbucks in Fife while on my long-anticipated lunch break.

He was talking about eating puppies and chatting with some super-smart NPR guy about classic satirical movies and books, and people were calling in and talking about their favorites.

Eventually some lady called in and mentioned a book I had actually heard of: Breakfast of Champions. I like that book. A lot. So much so that I read it to Jack before he was even born. I even blogged about it.

Later in the conversation, Buckley mentioned that Vonnegut's book, Slaughterhouse Fife, still sells sixty or seventy thousand copies a year. (I wonder who is collecting those royalties these days.)

Vonnegut hated being labeled a Sci Fi author. Buckley doesn't like the label Humorist (he much prefers Satirist).

I wonder what people will label me after Paradise Squandered becomes a bestseller?

Hack, probably. :)

I wonder if people still use that term...