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Stuff I wrote

June 15, 2021IntentionedI teared up the other day listening to a friend talk about how his girlfriend was secretly planning a trip for him. He saw an email or something that tipped him off and we chatted for over an hour…June 2, 2021M1 Mac Mini - A Rose With Some ThornsThe M1 Mac Mini is one of the best pieces of technology I’ve ever used. Here’s why I’m returning it. I ordered the M1 specifically for use editing videos. Final Cut is streamlined and optimized to…January 30, 2021EmergencyI've always found emergency contact forms to be a unique sort of aggressive. Who cares about you? You know, when you die. Who will give a shit? That's what they're asking. In addition to releasing…January 19, 2021Mixtape for the End of the World1999 was a wild year. Computers were ubiquitous enough that the world had begun relying on them, but they were still widely misunderstood by the public. There was a fear that when we rolled over from…December 18, 2020ChristmasGod I used to hate Christmas. I mean really despised it. I worked in the mall for my first real job and the incessant mannheim steamroller bullshit really bored itself into my head after the four…December 15, 2020Dead by Tomorrow - A Biased ReviewLet’s not pretend as though you don’t know about Andrew Monroe. He wrote the remarkable fantasy epic, A Leaf and Pebble . (I reviewed it here .) He’s the owner of The Subtle Nerd . Clothing for the…November 16, 2020Sad Songs for Beautiful Days - Native CrowdsOkay, so I’m biased. I have a special place in my heart for emo rock and the people that make it. The genre is what got me into music as a nerdy 15 year old in youth group listening to Taking Back…October 27, 2020WalkWhen I was in college, my best friend and I would walk from his apartment to the coffee shops or bars, often amounting to four or five hours of just walking and talking together. Whether this…October 18, 2020UnrequitedDo you know what the most common form of love is? You might guess, platonic, or romantic. Or if you’ve been reading the five love languages, maybe you’d assume physical love, or gift giving, or…October 7, 202033Above is the video version of this blog, but if you prefer to read, the following is the transcript. If you’d prefer to skip it all, here’s the punch line: Be nicer to yourself. I probably love you.…October 2, 2020"Hair-do" is stupid and so are youThe word “hair-do” is objectively terrible. The structure, the spelling, the weird hyphen. I hate it. I hate all of it. This particular piece of American vernacular is emblematic of issues that run…September 5, 2020Sneak Peak at Godless!It’s exciting to be so close to releasing book 2. Below are the first couple of chapters and I hope you dig em. You can pre-order here and that helps a TON. If you have questions, want to hear more…August 19, 2020Let's Talk About WAPsI’ve seen so many people post about WAP in their homes or even in the workplace and wanted to weigh in. Some of you are happy with the WAP you have and I think that’s great and wouldn’t want to steer…August 9, 2020Why I Hired Eleanor - An Audiobook StoryAfter finishing my first book, I had a long, internal debate with myself as to whether I should spend a bit on having it narrated for an audiobook. There was a moment in which I even considered…July 28, 2020Even if it kills me, a biased reviewThings have felt a lot tougher than usual lately. I’m not alone in feeling this way and I’ll admit that the existential dread serving as a constant companion throughout 2020 has made for some…June 21, 2020Our fathers were our models for GodI’m lucky. Extraordinarily so. I’m a dad. I have a daughter who still thinks I’m cool despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. She still asks me questions, instead of google, because she…June 17, 2020Ten DaysMy album comes out in ten days. If you follow me anywhere, you’ve seen the posts. I hope they’re super annoying by now. But the frequency and energy of my posting comes from a place of excitement.…June 8, 2020Silhouettes and Strange Shapes ReviewI’ve been following what Taylor Hutchison has been doing with “Antjae” for a while now. Some of you may remember “ Seasick Lullabies ”, a thirteen minute EP that immediately made me feel all of the…May 8, 2020I, Am Not Left HandedIf I were to try and name the most formative pieces of entertainment from my youth, that list would invariably contain three titles: The Prince of Persia Star Wars And The Princess Bride I can still…April 28, 2020There are teachers, and those with a teaching degreeI hate the way education has been presented and pushed in America. I was an unfortunate victim of the Texas school system myself. We have failed millions of children in a sad attempt to homogenize…April 23, 2020Merchandising in the Age of SpotifyBy and large, if you make music, you make money through licensing, touring and merch sales. Everyone has heard how small the payouts from Spotify are, and while I began making music when people still…April 20, 2020My Inner PotatoMy friend, Jordan, suggested that I take the “Big Five Personality Test” on our podcast the other day. It ranks you within five different traits based on responses to questions about your self…April 7, 2020Live, Laugh, Die - Another Mediocre PodcastWhat the world needs now is another mediocre podcast hosted by white men. And boy do I have great news....This is the inceptive episode of a project with my friend Jordan discussing some of the finer…April 2, 2020All Kinds of Time (Thanks Adam)Hearing about the tragic death of Adam Schlesinger today hurt. Both from how unexpected it was and for how profound an impact his songwriting had on me in highschool. It’s always been sad to me that…March 30, 2020How Do I Get My Music On Spotify?How do I, a largely unknown and unsuccessuful musician, distribute my music to Spotify? Short answer? I use CDBaby for stuff I care about and RouteNote for stuff that’s less important. For me, this…March 29, 2020December SessionsWhen I was 17 years old, I worked at a dollar movie theater in the mall. To say this was my favorite job across a lifetime of working in many weird fields, is to understate the matter a great deal.…March 23, 2020I Love You, I'm Sorry, Please Help Me, Thank YouIn the back of my book I wrote out a couple pages of acknowledgments. I always enjoyed this part of a book or, in the old days of my youth, the liner notes on an album where you get a rare bit of…March 21, 2020Giving Away My BookJust want the book and don’t want to read all this? Here ya go, you ironic bastard, you: Free Book (No-Mod) It’s gotten a bit lonely out there. Bereft of anything to do since finishing the last…March 20, 2020Modern RomanceHey! This is an old blog from my old website and I thought it was interesting in light of how much dating changes in quarantine. The pixelated interactions I bemoan throughout, are now the only…March 16, 2020I care who you pray uponI made a music video that deals with this topic. The song is called “Lies and Light” and it’s off my latest album Watch it here: Prosperity doctrine upsets me more than Jeff Bezos. Sure, controlling…March 13, 2020Covid-19 and Fight ClubWe were driving home from school and towards a very packed Walmart for stuff to make muffins when I asked Hazel what she thought about the Corona virus today. “It just ruins all of my fun stuff.” And…March 6, 2020Squad GoalsOne of my very closest friends is moving in about a week. There’s a duality of emotion when thinking about him heading down to Dallas. Of course I’m disappointed that I’m losing a workout buddy and…February 24, 2020No-Mod (The First Two Chapters)Hey, thank you for checking this out. This book was a freaking blast to write. If you dig this preview please consider buying the ebook on Amazon or better yet, check out the Audiobook narrated by…February 23, 2020Being Bad at Guitar in DallasI have been working on this damned album for almost 2 years now. And you are absolutely right, the quality can’t possibly reflect the amount of time invested. I feel like there are tons of weird…January 29, 2020A Leaf And Pebble (Incredibly Biased Review)It’s embarrassing to workout next to this dude. My cousin, Andrew Monroe, has done a great deal of good in my life. Not the least of which was pulling me from a spiraling depression by encouraging me…January 16, 20201917 Review (No spoilers)VIDEO REVIEW HERE Sam Mendes is perhaps best known for his directorial debut film, American Beauty. Setting aside it’s problematic lead, Kevin Spacey, this film and several that released that same…November 18, 2019TICK...TICK...TICK - (Timex 25th Hour)The limited edition April Fool’s joke watch dubbed “The 25th Hour” from Timex is a perfect exemplification of all the things I love and hate about Timex. This watch is a unique and creative concept…November 13, 2019Don't Buy the iPhone 11 (Get a Pixel 3a)This is the new Pixel 3a. It’s a budget option phone with the same fantastic camera from the pixel 3 coming in at $399 for the base model with 64GB of storage. (I got mine for $150 after trade in)…September 25, 2019Dad BallsI drove to Dallas this week with Tim Ferris. Actually, I drove to Dallas with his voice. (*looks at audiobook*) Nope. I drove to Dallas with Ray Porter, who read me a bunch of stuff Tim wrote but…you…March 31, 2015Read this book. Do itI’ve just finished reading “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss. I tend to throw myself into hyperbole when telling others about whatever the latest book I’m reading happens to be, but this…March 18, 2015The air smells like warm rootbeerMy parents took Hazel and I to Albuquerque this past weekend. While the reason for our visit was a sad one, we were able to take some time to visit the zoo and the aquarium on Saturday and it was a…March 11, 2015They see me rollin'I drive a mini van. It’s a beautiful Chrysler Voyager, with white paint and black runners. She has leg room for days and a brag worthy safety rating. The kids have a word for that emotional pang you…March 6, 2015Is that what you call a getaway?I love Brand New. They are a band that has grown with me and shaped me since I first began to really listen to music. I was 15 and my friend was driving us back to school in a beat up Taurus when I…March 6, 2015Baymax is my HomeboyJust the other night I watched Big Hero Six with my daughter. She tends to be fairly particular about which films she enjoys and which ones merit just leaving the room in disgust. I’ve yet to find a…March 4, 2015A Boy and His FermenterFollowing the discovery of craft breweries a few years back, I’ve reclassified myself as a bit of a beer snob. The guy that struggles to hide revulsion at the mention of Coors or Bud Light and rarely…February 27, 2015Makin' CosseeMy daughter loves coffee. I like to believe that this is my first, great parenting achievement. Some background: As a teenager, I briefly peddled caffeine at a Starbucks inside of Barnes and Noble. I…February 10, 2015Cubicle Sweet CubicleI grew up loving movies. I’ve always enjoyed almost any form of cinema. I’ve even gone through a misguided mumblecore phase in college, every bit as weird as it sounds (let me google that for you:…October 21, 2012I like it when you call me big PapaI have a daughter. That sentence is incredible and weird and frightening and amazing all at once. Just typing it out still doesn’t allow it to feel real. And yet, at the very same moment, this…March 13, 2012AwesotasticlimsTonight I joined some friends at the 806 to see a fantastically talented band perform their new record. The band? Flashbulb Fires . And if you have yet to hear them, check out that link. They’re…March 6, 2012Home Sweet Home, and other liesI considered writing about my apartment in the past tense. So it would seem like a humorous remembrance of a worse time in my life. This would be, rather disingenuous, because as I write this, the…January 30, 2012[Unicorns] [Princess] [Cocoa Butter]*2019 Update: Photos referenced in this blog are lost to time. Should I find them, I will update, but in transferring from the old site to this one, things were lost and unfortunately, Nifty was…June 15, 2011Life is like pizza; it's freaking awesomeLast night I had one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had. It was Man Night, so the obvious choices were steak, pizza, or steak on a pizza, or wings or some combination of all of those. Having recently…