Barney Martin

Barney Martin, aka Morty Seinfeld, has died. I'm not sure how I feel about the idea of a Seinfeld reunion show sometime in the future, but I'd be certainly less enthusiastic without Jerry's TV father there to talk about his time in the garment sales business and how much he can save on plane tickets if he takes an army transport. RIP Barney Martin.

The Office (US)

I watched the first episode of the American version of my favorite British comedy of all time, The Office, and was less than impressed. Don't get me wrong; it was funny but I really don't see any point in remaking a show that is already very very good just because the actors aren't American. Steve Carell is very funny as the wanting-to-be-loved-by-everyone boss, but the story line is exactly the same as the superior British version. I don't understand why they didn't base it on the British series and do something different with it. To me it seems like a big waste of money because it has already been done like this before. But I guess it's better since they don't have British accents, right?

Lullabies to Paralyze

I just finished listening to the new Queens of the Stone Age album on their MySpace site and feel that it is just rehashing previous albums. This is the first album without Nick Oliveri and it is quite evident. The songs seem to be lacking a punch that Nick must have been responsible for. For my money, their best album is still Rated R followed closely by Songs for the Deaf.

I much prefer the new stuff from Summer at Shatter Creek that can be heard on MySpace. For some good indie-folk check it out. It's only one guy doing all that!

That's All She Wrote!

As of 7:00 this evening, I completed the Audio Technology program at SAE Institute in Nashville, TN. So now here I sit in my apartment wondering where this new found knowledge will take me. Perhaps one day I'll be the next Phil Spector (without the murder charges), Tom Dowd (without the atomic bomb development), or maybe, if I'm really lucky, the next Nigel Godrich (this guy actually attended SAE London!).

For now I'm going to start a job in April doing voice recording and editing for a small but fun company here in Nashville. I've been interning for them for the past four months and am very fortunate that they have liked my work and are willing to pay me for it. I'll be looking for studio and other technical work and hopefully throwing in some open mic experiences as well to showcase some of my songwriting.

The world is my oyster...but I never cared much for oysters! What does that mean?!?

World Water Day?

I have Google marked as my homepage and when I opened up IE this morning, the Google icon had been changed to this:


Google 3/22/05

Usually I understand the change, like a heart for the o's on Valentine's Day or some four-leaf clovers for St. Patrick's Day, but today's I just didn't understand. So I clicked the Google icon to see what would happen.

It brought me to a search results page for World Water Day. So to find out more, I clicked the first returned result. The link is to www.worldwaterday.org. I'm assuming it's some sort of water conservation page but I'll never know because the page could not be found. If you are going to use the internet to get your message out, you have to make sure that your page works! That is key on the net. I'm not going to wait around with baited breath to find out what this website is because by the time I get on Google again this afternoon, I'll have already forgotten about this so called World Water Day. Perhaps I'm being too harsh but hey, I've got finals today!

The Final Countdown

I start my finals for school this afternoon and finish up tomorrow night. Wow, nine months has gone by fast! Now comes the time when I return to gainful employment so as to keep the creditors off my back. I'll be spending the next week or so looking for work while I prepare for starting a part-time job doing some audio production. So here I go into the professional world of audio!

So it's been a while....

It has been a while since I have made any posts here. There are various reasons for this but I am going to try very hard to get back on this thing and do it more frequently. So without further ado...

I'm Going To Have A Sister!

My youngest brother Travis proposed to Danielle this afternoon and she accepted! They have been dating for four years but lived apart for about two and a half but are now both attending Texas A&M. Travis did it in full style with the assistance of the members of his Corps of Cadets outfit. They made a saber arch on the steps of the A&M System Building and escorted Danielle to the top where Travis waited to make the proposal.

They probably won't be getting married for another year or two but it is so great that they are now engaged. My family loves Danielle and her family so much already and now we will get to be officially united as two families. I am so happy for both Travis and Danielle and wish them all the best!


Travis and Danielle

Travis Proposes To Danielle

Frances Thevis Melancon

I've just returned home from a trip to my hometown of Lafayette, LA to take part in the funeral for my grandmother, Frances Thevis Melancon.

It has been a very emotional and exhausting couple of days. I have been to several funerals over the years including one of a very close friend of mine, but this is the first time in my life that I and my brothers have had to deal with the passing of a close family member.

She had a very full life and had gotten to see and do so much in her 85 years. Only recently after a few diagnostic exams and minor surgeries did doctors realize that she had a very aggressive cancer. From the day she was officially diagnosed until February 28 when she passed away, only 12 days had transpired. But I had an opportunity to see her before she passed just under two weeks ago and at that time, we all knew that it was only a matter of time. But with the assistance of Hospice of Acadiana, she was able to pass among family and with minimal pain.

I, my brothers and my cousins are very fortunate to have had such a loving grandmother. She was instrumental in raising all of us. I have personally been out of a little out of touch with my aunt, uncle and cousins over the past few years as all of us have gotten older, but like the cliche goes, this situation really brought us much closer than we have been since we were all very young children playing in "Maw Maw's" back yard.

I will miss her but I felt very much at peace after the funeral yesterday because I honestly know that she is in a better place now. As hard as a death in the family is, the experience was amazing and I really understand very well now what the purpose of a funeral is and how helpful it is for family and friends.

Rest in Peace Maw Maw