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Stories from the Road: 2/12/12 - 2/19/12
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Wednesday, February 15, 2012. The day I discovered a life without religion. I've also discovered that most people are not interested in changing their views, despite persuasive arguments and (more importantly) evidence opposing their belief structure. Most simply are interested in spreading their views like cheese whiz in the wind. By complete isolation, I mean forever without other human contact, no access to religious texts, etc. Although I am certain I...
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Stories from the Road: The Preposterous Notion of "Taking Our Country Back"
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Monday, July 2, 2012. The Preposterous Notion of "Taking Our Country Back". If there's one cliche to count on in today's bipolar America, it is the claim that we must "take our country back" from those seemingly "against us". Perhaps everybody should consider how absurd this notion is. Exactly whom should we take it back from? Didn't we vote for him? Didn't we vote for them? Didn't we elect those who are constitutionally permitted to appoint and confirm them?
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Stories from the Road: 1/22/12 - 1/29/12
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Friday, January 27, 2012. SFTR: New Orleans in Nutshells. I have learned many things from my recent experiences in New Orleans. Here is a select list of these important findings. If the song "Silent Lucidity" plays in a restaurant before the meal is served, it will probably be a top 5 meal of the year. A homeless man does, sadly, feel shame in leaving a urine stain on the sidewalk. Bad saxophone players cannot ruin good beignets. The phrase "who dat? Amateur ...
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Stories from the Road: I Never Sang for My Father
http://ummagpinecone.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-never-sang-for-my-father.html
Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Friday, June 15, 2012. I Never Sang for My Father. My father has always been a man of simple needs. Like many in my family, Dad always seems happiest with a glass of wine and an open sky. I think of many sunsets on his back porch overlooking Table Rock, the throes of light burning the dusky horizon, and I always see a smile on his face. With my focus so sternly on reaching my occupational goal(s), I often stubbornly avoided my personal ones. Previous desi...
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Stories from the Road: 4/29/12 - 5/6/12
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Saturday, May 5, 2012. The bogusness and total truth that is the five stages of grief I can now see fully in quasi-objective hindsight. The miserable flight to and from Derrick's funeral to the complete blur of the few weeks afterward - for which I have few if any lucid memories - to the rage during Christmas season filling the survivors in this merciless new reality. Now, though, I shudder at the alternative. Is that "healing"? Subscribe to: Posts (Atom).
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Stories from the Road: 7/15/12 - 7/22/12
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Tuesday, July 17, 2012. The solace of empty voices. What did you think of Alaska? What people don't seem to realize is that Alaska cannot be described adequately. Mother kept calling it "big," but seeing the places we saw, the word choice is unsatisfying. When you see the finest of movies, don't you feel a little disappointed when you call it "really good"? That is what I thought of Alaska. Sunday, July 15, 2012. With food, guilt is almost a requirement for l...
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Stories from the Road: 12/18/11 - 12/25/11
http://ummagpinecone.blogspot.com/2011_12_18_archive.html
Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Wednesday, December 21, 2011. The year 2011 is about to close, so it is again time for the Christmas letter. The year began with me starting a new job as an assistant professor at the University of South Alabama. Strangely, the year ended with me still in the position. Well, after this football season, I guess that makes sense. In the next year, I plan to go to New Orleans at least three times; Charleston, SC; another Colorado bonanza; Alaska (including Denal...
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Stories from the Road: 12/11/11 - 12/18/11
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Monday, December 12, 2011. Home from a lovely but work-filled weekend, I wish to rant on a few things that I've come across recently. I've always had the same problem with artists signing their work. This completely demystifies the art. Leave the creation alone. There are other ways of signing the image. But what you've done, in my mine, is destroy your own art - your own creation. Basically just to say that you made the art. Hubris self-vandalism. I don't ge...
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Stories from the Road: Things I Would Do for Oklahoma Joe's
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Tuesday, June 5, 2012. Things I Would Do for Oklahoma Joe's. Crawl naked over broken glass. Marry a Kardashian for ten minutes. Smooch Betty White right on the mouth. (Hell, I probably would anyway.). Wear high heels in a Harley store. Refer to George W. Bush as "NOT the worst President ever". Abstain from chocolate for a whole day. Go to Atlanta voluntarily. Forgive George Lucas for existing for the past two decades. Go to New Orleans and not have a beignet.
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Stories from the Road: A few thoughts on my latest excursion
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Stories from the Road. Roll the windows down. Tuesday, May 29, 2012. A few thoughts on my latest excursion. My first of two big vacations this summer is drawing to a close. As always (it seems), the trip turns out being better than expected. I'm a sucker for national parks, and the Utah entries are spectacular. How important is travel? To me, it is the quintessential means of defining yourself - and maybe more importantly - giving one the chance to see what that definition is. Just up the pike.
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