The Lists, Part Two

My planning and execution would've had to have been impeccable. My list this year has 36 items -- goals, to-dos, resolutions, whatever. Some are big -- complete the backyard makeover (still pending), paint outside of house (still pending), purchase new living room suite (completed, though Jess would probably say "still pending"). Many are small -- take family to see Harlem Globetrotters (check), volunteer at least 12 times (check), get Zephyr on a soccer team (check). All told, out of the 36 items, some of which immediately changed in January (mostly the health-related ones), I fully completed 10, and partially completed another nine.

It's been a good year. We've worked hard, travelled, seen and done new things, learned, bickered, fought and loved. With everything, it's been a bit exhausting and I am not alone (I think) in looking forward to a more relaxed new year with hopes of striking the right balance of doing, and not doing (if you have kids, you know this is a difficult trick). In that spirit, I am not putting together a master list for 2012. It has gotten to the point where the list dictated (at least somewhat) our familial direction. Our direction needs to dictate what we do in 2012.

But sense I am a still a (reluctant) fan of lists, here's a few more bands/albums worthy of checking out and some movies that were highly enjoyable this year:

Tommy Guerrero - Lifeboats and Follies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ_XqPefH-8

Frank Turner - England Keep My Bones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMwb7OwM6t4&feature=related

British Sea Power - Valhalla Dancehall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-USHXbY-9ws

Explosions In The Sky - Take Care, Take Care, Take Care
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRv4Jpfh-b4&feature=related

Vaccines - What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQKjI6395iU

Young Adult - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar_-v7dEEoo
Captain America - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-J3HfllvXWE
The Muppets - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVkla1N9tpQ
Super 8 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqvZMhRB5cE
The Help - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0dWCXCjX9o

The Lists, Part One

The lists have been arduous, anixety-laden and damn-near impossible to complete. There was just too much to do, too little time to commit, too little money to devote. For the past two years, I have made incredible resolution/to-do lists that were supposed to add clarity and direction to my year and for the most part they did help. But almost a full 24 months later there are still many things outstanding and if I am being realistic, those things will probably be there 24 months from now.

Last year one of my main and probably most achievable goals was to listen to 200 new albums. I didn't accomplish this, but I came within a respectable distance. By my count, I listened to at least 151 new albums. I say at least, because I suspect that there are a few that I forgot to mark down. Despite not making it to 200, 151 albums is a heckuva lot of music and there were certainly albums that I spent a lot of time with and a lot that I didn't give proper time.

My list is kept in an Excel file. Simple, with the name of the band/artist and in the next column the title of the album. If it was great, I would highlight the columns in bold. If it was really great, I would highlight the columns in bold, and italicize.

My tastes are really all over the board and I am not going to claim any type of critical superiority over anyone else. Here are a few from the list that I think are worthy of mention. I would be curious to see what you liked and hope to perhaps find some new tunes to jump into as soon as the calendar page rolls.

Drum roll por favor:

Mastodon - The Hunter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkPzOJbAN0A&feature=related

Future Virgins - Western Problems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmcF1AzhRUo

Centro-Matic - Candidate Waltz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ASAaFl4Vk

The Drums - Portamento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqYgNiZdfh4

The Cool Kids - When Fish Ride Bicycles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jnUASsUKsM

Richard Swift - Walt Wolfman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlc2dqW8uGg

We Were Promised Jetpacks - In The Pit Of The Stomach
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-t_N6uOMZE

Tennis - Cape Dory
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DXBWzuwsxk

Raphael Saadiq - Stone Rollin'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXHs0t5VQM4

The Decemberists - The King is Dead
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hh50rpjU1iY

Ida Maria - Bad Karma
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46Z-e2DEK6o&ob=av2n

The Basics

It's taken me a while to come to the full reality of this, but I truly enjoy reading articles and blogs. More often than not, I prefer theme blogs or sites -- places I know I can always go to get specific information about this or that. As it stands, this will not be one of those blogs, simply for the fact that a) I'm too lazy to fully commit and b) I like too many things and don't want to pigeon-hole myself before I get going. This will be a (hopefully) daily outlet for me to express thoughts on a variety of subjects. From music to sports to art to parenting to food to whatever, I hope this can be an open forum with a decent amount of back and forth with whoever is out there and wants to participate.

So without further adieu, here are the basics (as I see them):

33 years old, born and raised in the DFW metroplex of Texas, married for 10.5 years to a great gal - Jessa - from Pennsylvania whom I met while touring in a punk rock band, parent of two kids - Maddy 7 and Zephyr 4, and one crazy-wild whippet - Sgt. Pepper. I work from home for a production music company, Megatrax. It's an awesome company and allows me many, many perks. I LOVE music. Not just a little bit, or specific styles. I love just about all of it and I listen to a ton of music each and every day. I also love sport -- football (Cowboys, of course), baseball (Rangers, among others), running (though I am getting bored and will be taking a break -- more on that to come), riding bikes, skateboards, etc.

So there you have the basics. Now that that is out of the way, please feel free to introduce yourself in one of the normal manners. Much more to come soon!