My MacBook 2006 - 2012

A friend noted recently that I tend to post obituaries on here when I actually get around to posting.  So, I thought I would live up to that trend.

My trusty MacBook died yesterday.  It was the first Mac I ever owned and it served me well.  Through several states, many campaigns and hours and hours of work.  When I got it I taught myself how to use it and how to use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop all the same weekend so I could design mail for political campaigns.  Those first days, like so many in a relationship, were fun and exciting yet still lacking in a total trust.  So much so that I kept a p.c. for another year.  I even went back to a p.c. for a while - cheating I guess - and of course regretted it as anyone would. 

If you look at the picture above, you can see the tape that had been holding the case together and keeping the dust out.  The mouse pad no longer worked quite right and I couldn't even upgrade most of the software on it.  Maybe that makes me cheap - I prefer frugal by the way - but I just couldn't bring myself to buy a new one when the old one still worked.

I'm now the owner of a shiny new MacBook Pro.  It's nice and fast and pretty - but I have to admit I miss my old Mac.

Happy Super Tuesday

It's Super Tuesday in Oklahoma, though not too exciting for us Democrats. Today I'm really thinking back to the first time I really paid any attention to the multi-state voting day in 1988. That was the year I backed Al Gore for President. Why? My Grandmother is the reason.

You see, she was old enough to have voted for Oklahoma Senator Thomas Gore, a distant relative of Al Gore (and Gore Vidal for that matter) so that meant our family was gonna be for Gore.

I was pretty excited to have backed the winner - that night Gore won Oklahoma along with Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Nevada and Tennessee. Ultimately of course he lost to Mike Dukakis, but it made me an Al Gore fan for life.

I haven't really had as exciting an experience on Super Tuesday since. I guess your first is always memorable, huh?

Happy New Year

To everyone with whom I shared 2011 - in Oklahoma, New York, Connecticut, Montana and Florida - thanks for making it an amazing and memorable year.

I hope you have a safe New Year's Eve celebration and wish you all the best for a healthy, joyful and prosperous 2012.

Merry Christmas

For unto us a child is born...
~ Isaiah 9:6

May the peace and joy of Christmas be with you in this season and throughout the New Year.

Regis Ends His Run

I saw today that Regis Philbin is ending his run on daytime television. Smart to go out on top. He's had amazing success and has worked hard for years. What motivates him? I have always thought this story from an interview in Esquire magazine about six years ago is quite telling.

My dad died when he was sixty-seven. I regret terribly that he wasn't around to see the success of the national show, that I put him through torture without him seeing the rewards. It is an unfinished piece of business in my life.

Makes you wonder if that is part of what got him out of bed every morning?

Happy Birthday William Shatner!

Whether you loved him as Captain Kirk, T.J. Hooker or Denny Crane, one thing is clear: The Shat has staying power.

Today my favorite Trek actor turns 80 and in celebration I've stolen these 80 Reasons Why William Shatner Is Awesome from TrekMovie.com.

TrekMovie.com’s 80 reasons why William Shatner is awesome

80. Travelled by war canoe as a teenager from Canada to the United States

79. Sold kidney stone for charity

78. Co-wrote "Believe," a book about hypothetic match between Houdini vs. Arthur Conan Doyle

77. Drives race cars and motorcycles – inspiring viral dance video

76. Inducted Jerry Lawler into the Wrestling Hall of Fame

75. Was Ranger Bob on the Canadian version of The Howdy Doody Show

74. Swam with dolphins and a 50 foot whale shark

73. Rerecorded Star Trek ‘final frontier’ narration for Shuttle Discovery final wake up call

71. Favorite color: leaves changing

70. Played beauty pageant host in a movie, then in real life a year later

69. Has building named after him at Montreal’s McGill University

68. Led Canada’s 2010 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremonies

67. Reported seeing UFO in Mojave desert in 1967
(but later denied it)

66. Has great recipe for cappuccino muffins

65. Is friends with Henry Rollins pair did a duet "I can’t get behind that"

64. Punked an entire town

63. Was immortalized in Lego

62. Talked to Koko, the signing gorilla

61. In "Fight Club" when Brad Pitt asks Edward Norton what celeb he would fight, he replies "Shatner"

60. Did live TV in 50s

59. Breeds horses

58. Speaks French

57. Nominated for Emmy for playing character named "The Big Giant Head"

56. Can sell anything from Law Offices, to Bran Cereal, to Computers

55. Appeared as himself in cult hit "Free Enterprise"

54.Was portrayed by John Belushi…and many since

53. Has his own fan club and a podcast dedicated to him called "Look At His Butt!"

52. In 1962 worked with George Lucas, cameraman for "The Psalms" – later sang "My Way" to Lucas at AFI

51. On The Hollywood Walk of Fame and in the Broadcast & Cable Hall of Fame

50. Narrated the book of Exodus for CD

49. Made movie about God in 1989, appeared as Satan on Comedy Central in 2005, and as Santa Claus in 2009

48. Poked some fun at fans with famous SNL skit – later showed transformation and embrace of fandom in ironically titled memoire "Get a Life!"

47. Plays paintball

46. Had his own customized limited edition Heinz ketchup bottle

45. Competed in the "World Poker Tour"

44. King of 70s celebrity guest game shows

43. Started his own social networking site

42. Was guest photographer for Playboy

41. First film role, "Brothers Karamazov" 1958…with more to come still

40.Willing to laugh at himself

39. Knows how to handle a woman

38. Is active in environmentalism

37. Studied with Tyrone Guthrie, and won the Tyrone Guthrie Award

36. Starred in movie made entirely in Esperanto, "Incubus"

35. Name can easily be converted to adjective (Shatnerific, Shatastic, etc)

34. Has a degree in business

33. Was fired by a theater as business manager, then hired that same day as an actor

32. The Negotiator

31. Is Canadian

30. Is Jewish

29. Has his own talk show

28. Kingdom of the Spiders

27. Appeared on both "Circus of the Stars" and "Battle of the Network Stars"

26. Never appeared on either "Love Boat" or "Fantasy Island"

25. Brought Kirk back from the dead in his own "Shatnervese" books

24. Tek War

23. Friends with Leonard Nimoy for 45 years

22. Michael Meyer’s mask from "Halloween" movies based on Shatner/Kirk mask

21. Took the term "Has Been" and turned it into a hit album

20. Set the standard for cops jumping on car hoods (+ boats, buses, planes, etc)

19. Inspired art show

18. Inspired a ballet

17. Inspired song "If William Shatner Can, I Can Too"

16. Has over half million followers on Twitter, stars in sitcom inspired by Twitter, turned reading tweets into beat poetry

15. Appeared in 3 Broadway plays

14. Two words: Kirk-fu (or is that one word?)

13. Worked with role model, Spencer Tracy.

12. Did two great Twilight Zone episodes including Nightmare at 20,000 feet – later parodied with Miss Piggy

11. Won two Emmys, two Saturns, a Golden Globe…and a Razzie

10. Was the first TV interracial kisser (with Nichelle Nichols)

9. Nickname at Montreal West Hills High School: ‘Toughie’

8. Is an award-winning equestrian

7. Killed a 9 foot tall kodiak bear with bow and arrow on ABC "The
American Sportsman" – which he later regretted

6. Denny Crane!

5. Rocket Man

4. Starred in groundbreaking civil rights movie, "The Intruder" in in
1962

3. Raises money for children’s charities through annual horse show

2. KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN

1. At 80 he is still active and entertaining the world

Happy Birthday Mr. Shatner!

Remembering John Lennon

I vividly remember as young boy when John Lennon was murdered and taken from us far too soon. My mother had grown up a Beatles fan as a high school and college student in the '60's and passed her love for their passionate music on to me and my sister. I had played Beatles LP's on our record player and while I didn't yet understand all I would come to grasp about their unique nature, I did grasp the tremendous loss the news conveyed.

Lennon's art was so timeless it simply is difficult for me to believe it has been thirty years.