A First Time For Everything....

Where do I start? I've been contemplating taking up a new blog for a while now, but I thought I should wait until I get a new computer. That happened earlier this summer, so I guess I have no more excuses.
As I said in my blog description, I'll probably devote most of my time to my tastes in music and movies, politics, random musings about how dumb we are as a civilization, and what my cat "Buckley" happens to do from day to day. I'll make every attempt to at least type something every day that I'm on my computer--whether or not it is worthy of reading will be another hurdle to jump. Ill do my best.
Well, today is Monday...and it's already half-over. I met my mom at Hastings today because she was in town and ended up buying "The Orphanage" on DVD (great movie if you don't mind subtitles) and a book called "The Secret Founding of America" by Nicholas Hagger. That's right up my alley. I'm a big fan of what I affectionately call "Alternative History." I'm thoroughly disgusted by what passes as history in the classroom. My biggest gripe is the slanted history we give towards Christopher Columbus. It's funny how he and fellow Western Europeans who stumbled across our shores get painted as "discoverers" and "heroes" to both their native countries and our own. Little is said in textbooks of the atrocities committed by them and their crews to the natives. In the interest of not talking too much about one subject, I'd suggest you read the first section of Howard Zinn's book "A People's History of the United States" or the second chapter of James W. Loewen's "Lies My Teacher Told Me."
(Funny side note, on a local newspaper's online message board, I strongly disputed the claims of a nationally-syndicated columnists {http://www.creators.com/opinion/miguel-perez/archive.html} opinion columns in which he praised such mass-murderers/land-grabbers/disease spreaders as Cortez, Columbus, and Pizarro. He returned the favor by citing part of my scathing retort in his next column. I guess that was my 15 sentences of fame!)
Okay, now....on to music:
I'm excited that I found the money-sucking online shrine eBay! I've already bought a Frank Zappa concert DVD and a Zappa vintage t-shirt. You'll soon realize that I've got a strong passion for Frank Zappa as a musician and satirical genius. It's an acquired taste, but if you're a big fan of musical prodigies and really funny/political/topical lyrics, then Frank is the mad scientist that created them both and made the monster that is progressive rock. Frank is one of those musicians that would be contemporary in any decade. He'd still be relevant today if he hadn't died of cancer back in the early '90's. The man didn't do drugs and never drank....but his addiction to cigarettes put an end to what would have been another 30 or 40 years of musical perfection. I really wish he was still alive....
Well, Buckley (the cat) really isn't very active today. He got his daily trip out into the front yard to have his recommended daily allowance of chewed grass that will soon end up on one of my floors in a puddle of spit. Looking forward to that!
Well.....in football action tonight: Favre against the Packers. I'll probably watch just because of the circumstances. Looks like another Monday night at the Seafood Tavern. This cooler weather is going to make "Party on the Patio" a little more bearable. In other music-related news...I'm a little happy that I chose to sell my Austin City Limits Music Festival ticket this year. It rained all day Saturday and reports said it looked like a giant mud pit. Maybe they'll consider moving it back to September next year.
Well, that's it for Episode One. I hope you come back for more! Bookmark this page and check it regularly! Thanks for checking in!