what's on my mind

After the bad taste that 2010 ultimately left in my mouth, 2011 - the year I turned the big 4-0 - was a year that saw a lot of improvement in my life. And that leaves me with some confidence for 2012. A good thing, since I'm already seeing some challenges ahead.

BEST MOMENT OF 2011 (which almost didn't happen by year's end - more on that later): Jaden and Destiny made permanent members of our family. They are the two most awesome, most wonderful kids I've ever gotten involved with. Jaden's a near-perfect gentleman when he's not clowning around, and he's developing a slightly oddball sense of humor, much to my delight. Destiny's a rambunctious yet precious little angel who's turning into a bit of a show-off. They're officially our kids now, and I couldn't be any happier about that. RUNNERS-UP: Meeting one of my comic heroes, Stephan Pastis, in person; the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA championship; taking Jaden to the International Speed Stacking Competition, something he definitely enjoyed; the arrival of In-N-Out Burger to the metroplex; riding the new (and very much improved) Texas Giant coaster at Six Flags, a wilder yet less-headache-inducing experience.

WORST MOMENT OF 2011: The fact that it took months on end for the adoption to be finalized. We were first told that the adoption would be finalized sometime in June; then it was July; then it would be sometime in September; then most certainly October (in which we planned a party for the occasion but the court date got postponed again... we still had it in October, though); and finally getting the job done in mid-November. I understand the paperwork involved with the kids was voluminous and daunting... still, the constant goalpost-moving was frustrating to me. RUNNERS-UP: Working on-call tech support; the breakup of R.E.M., one of my all-time favorite bands; a diaper nightmare that claimed a bunch of toys as casualties and brought me to the brink of vomiting; the untimely passing of Kristi's grandmother in May; the eviction of Kalli the cat from our home; the Texas Rangers losing the World Series after coming so agonizingly close (ONE MORE STRIKE in Game 6 would've done it) to winning it.

UPGRADES IN 2011: Plenty of 'em to go around. We put a carport in the back (no more car ovens in the summer, yay!); we got a brand new fence; we ditched the big, nasty & dangerous shed and bought a smaller Rubbermaid version (that opened up the backyard a LOT); We got a new desktop computer and re-formatted the old computer for Jaden; and while he got a hand-me-down computer, he DID get a brand new flat-screen TV for his room; and last but not least, Kristi's now the proud owner of a new iPad.

TOM'S TOP 20 OF 2011

The top spot was really hard to determine this year, there were a bunch of good entries. Suffice it to say the top five were a photo finish. And rest assured that "Friday" is nowhere on the list.

1. "Shake It Out", Florence & The Machine - I gotta say this band is really coming into their own. The powerful voice of Flo Welch, the wall of sound the rest of the band provides, the elaborate and exotic visuals... it's gotten them quite the well-deserved following so far. And when you combine a tribal-esque beat with a positive, uplifting message, you get one hell of a contender for #1. I'm happy to say "Shake It Out" edged it out.

2. "Make It Stop (September's Children)", Rise Against - And just when I was wondering what happened to politically-charged rock... this was done in response to the September 2010 suicides of some bullied teenagers. A thrilling track that'll haunt you.

3. "Helena Beat", Foster The People - This is one of my favorite new bands now. Mark Foster is a real versatile singer, going from spacey to funky to (on this single) falsetto-ish.

4. "Paradise", Coldplay - Exotic and elegaic, this standout song from the Mylo Xyloto album really does sound like paradise.

5. "The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie", Red Hot Chili Peppers - I like the catchier, funkier groove that new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer is bringing to the Chili Pepper sound.

6. "Yonkers", Tyler The Creator - Tyler brings the rap game back to gangsta basics, and the sparse, provocative video only adds to the rawness.

7. "Sail", Awolnation - Smooth and uneasy at the same time.

8. "Make Some Noise", Beastie Boys - It sounds like they're back in "Check Your Head" mode here. And the video, where the '86 version of the Beasties face off against their middle-age selves, is icing on the cake.

9. "Born This Way", Lady Gaga - I like how Ms. Germanotta is becoming a thorn in the ass of social conservatives... and this awesome "be proud of who you are" track only helps her cause.

10. "This Is Country Music", Brad Paisley - I can't help but love odes to traditional classic country folks. And who better to sing about that than Brad.

11. "Lonely Boy", The Black Keys
12. "Now", Staind
13. "Irresistable Force", Jane’s Addiction
14. "Take It Or Leave It", Sublime With Rome
15. "The Sound Of Winter", Bush
16. "Alligator Aviator Autopilot Antimatter", R.E.M.
17. "I Get By", Everlast
18. "Immigrant Song", Karen O & Trent Reznor
19. "Sick Of You", Cake
20. "The Bitch Came Back", Theory Of A Deadman

Honorable Mention: "Me Me Me", Jim Norton / Dru Boogie - Dru took Jim's rant on self-centered whiners and turned it into a brilliant and catchy parody of emo music.

TOP 5 SONGS OF 2011 THAT WERE RELEASED BEFORE 2011

1. "Young Blood", Naked & Famous - Reminds me of the "shoegazer" bands of the early 90's. Trance-like and enthralling.
2. "Pumped Up Kicks", Foster The People - This would've made the main chart (and been a serious #1 contender) if it hadn't been released as a single in the fall of '10.
3. "I Am Not A Human Being", Lil Wayne
4. "Aberdeen", Cage The Elephant
5. "Rolling In The Deep", Adele

It's no coincidence that I'm putting this out on Thanksgiving Day. I am definitely thankful for how things aligned the way they did for our two foster children to become, as of November 19th, permanent members of our family.

Getting into the foster parent program was the best decision Kristi and I could make where family was concerned. It took a lot of classes, home studies and paperwork, but we were grateful to get our licenses back in the summer of 2008. Real-life crap got in the way soon after that, so we weren't fully ready to start taking in kids until next spring.

The first couple of kids we got - a sibling group of two Hispanic preschool girls - were only with us for about a month, but it turned out to be a good inaugural run. I didn't know how well I would adjust to parenting a 3-year-old and an 18-month-old (especially given my aversion to changing diapers), but I adapted well, thanks in no small part to Kristi's experience in dealing with kids.

Three months after those two departed, Jaden entered our lives. I was expecting the worst - according to the family history, he could've been a scared little kid prone to crying fits and acting destructively - but the little 5-year-old boy who showed up was polite, well-behaved, and loved Star Wars and playing with Legos. I knew he'd fit right in.

And fit in well he did. He's got his own goofy sense of humor, and the three of us tend to exchange wisecracks with each other on a regular basis. He loves playing on the Wii and the computer, with his regular online haunts being Club Penguin, Roblox and the Parry Gripp offerings on YouTube. He's at that age where he asks if he could do something a dozen or so times, and if we say no it's followed by "whyyy". He's doing quite well academically, not to mention socially; it's fairly easy for him to make new friends. He's warmed up to roller coasters way younger than I ever did. After all he's been through before CPS took him to us, he's turning out to be a well-adjusted young boy... and I can only hope to continue raising him right.

We weren't expecting to add any more kids to our family since we seemingly had our hands full with Jaden, but when our case worker called saying she had a 6-month-old baby girl that needed a new home, we jumped at the chance. And we're so happy we said yes to Destiny. We also consider ourselves very lucky that she came to us without any major problems, that she's been for the most part a happy and good-natured child. To no one's surprise, she's taken well to Dora and Elmo... and I've managed to get her hooked on Yo Gabba Gabba. She's a good deal more mischievous than Jaden, and she'll sometimes try to get out of trouble by acting real cute. (It doesn't work with me. Okay, 99% of the time it doesn't.) But at least that cuteness helps when the time comes to change poopy diapers. After over a year of handling the Huggies, I rarely fall victim to the gag reflex these days when dealing with baby turds.

I know we've had it relatively easy so far, and I'm pretty sure we'll get a fair share of challenges and hurdles to overcome. But I get the whole "joy of parenting" thing now.

Even as I'm about to turn 40, part of me is still a kid at heart... and I'm glad I've gotten another chance to pull out the old Legos and put the video games to better use for Jaden. That iconic Little Tikes red-and-yellow kiddie car wasn't around when I was age-appropriate for it - I was 8 when it was introduced - but I love seeing Destiny have fun meandering about in one. I remember all the cool stuff I got to do in my Cub Scouting days, and now that Jaden's going down those same badge trails, I enjoy helping him achieve those goals. It's been fun to be able to go to all those cool playgrounds and activities that - let's face it - I would look really creepy doing without kids in tow.

So welcome to the family, Jaden and Destiny. Your new parents love the both of you dearly.

Eighth grade was the most surreal school experience for me. For one thing, I excelled in weirdness that year. My notebook paper was neon blue, I wore neon green checkerboard laces on my shoes (those were common in 1985, believe it or not), I was trying to be "the funny guy" - and ended up being moreso "the dorky guy" - and to help myself cope with the difficult times, I imagined that I was in a school sitcom (a la Saved By The Bell, before that even existed), complete with imagined canned laughter for even the awkwardest of situations. My grades ended up mediocre at best (at least it was an improvement over disastrous seventh grade). I tried, in vain, to be more social and make new friends. And I succeeded to a small degree. But one unexpected, unfortunate incident would end that school year on a somber note (and would make for one of those "very special episodes").

I didn't know Traci Crawford. Never even heard of her until the last day of school... though I soon wish I would have, once the bell rang. I can't remember which teacher it was that broke the news, but once everyone had settled in, they told us that last night a student had committed suicide, and that counselors and social workers would be on hand to talk to any student affected by this tragedy. The rest of the day seemed a little odd. There was still some jubilation in the air at Central Middle School, as eighth-graders threw off the shackles of homework and testing and welcomed the summer vacation, but I could still see some classmates in tears consoling each other over the loss of a dear friend. While I wasn't greatly affected by the sad turn of events, I was still stunned. How could anyone only 14-15 years into their life be devastated enough to want to end it?

I still wonder that today, as I read about kids as young as eight years old killing themselves over things such as bullying incidents or bad grades. Suicide can be a really touchy subject, not easy to talk about at all. You don't want to indirectly encourage more at-risk kids to off themselves; at the same time, you don't want to posthumously pile blame on the victim, out of respect for the surviving relatives and friends. You want to get through to those on the brink that life is still worth living, even though they're going through what they feel is the absolute worst time of their life.

In fact, I need to put together my own "It Gets Better" video for YouTube. I'm a classic example of someone in that situation. I've had my share of bullies, beatings and outright ridicule. Parts of my childhood seemed like pure hell. But I knew that once I was finished with school, once I could set out on my own, I could take control of my life and make things a lot better for myself. I didn't have YouTube or Facebook back in the 80's (and I sure as hell wished I did), but I did have MTV and a certain Howard Jones song that went like this: "And do you feel scared? I do... but I won't stop and falter. And if we throw it all away, things can only get better." (And I would mention, by the way, that "throwing it all away" would mean not your life, but all the negativity in your life.) I'd like to think that I would have said the same thing to Traci, had I gotten to know her during that tumultuous school year and I had an inkling of what she was about to do.

At any rate, life went on for 24 years. I graduated high school, moved to Dallas, got married, bought a house and settled into family life. Traci wouldn't reenter my consciousness until one day last year, when a fellow classmate of mine put up scanned images of the eighth grade yearbook on Facebook. On the page with Traci's picture on it was also a cut-out copy of her obituary from the newspaper. It surprised me to find out that she was buried in a cemetery in Dallas. It surprised me a bit more to find out that this cemetery was on my side of town.

So one fine day after that, during the weekend, I ventured out to this cemetery and got the location of Traci's grave. It had a small little metallic marker and an empty vase. I took a picture of the marker and saved the map to the gravesite for another time... namely, this weekend, when today marks 25 years since Traci took her own life.

Yesterday I went to the dollar store and bought some plastic flowers and a foam base to stick them in. When I drove back to the cemetery, I could still find the marker, but there was a hole in it... someone had taken the vase. So I decided to take the foam base and shove it into the hole, sticking the flowers on top. Just a random act of kindness for the memory of someone whose untimely passing served to remind me that life is short, fragile and ultimately worth living and preserving.

I may have never known you back in the day, Traci... but I hope you're resting well in peace. You may have been gone for a quarter-century, but you're still not forgotten.

Given the current political climate, there's a slight but realistic chance that Republicans might retake the White House and Senate soon. Of course, we won't be sure of this until November of 2012. But for all the popular optimistic gushing over hope and change, the Tea Party folks, like 'em or not, are reminding us that the government is spending their way to a financial meltdown. And things just might go their way if we keep on this path of running up multitrillion deficits, burdening our national debt to no end. If spending isn't drastically reined in soon, I've a feeling we're gonna experience that financial meltdown... either through hyperinflation and devalued dollars or a slew of new and higher taxes that supposedly will pay for all the government does (which'll lead to hyperinflation as well).

So the pendulum could swing back to the conservative side sooner or later. While I welcome the fiscal conservatism, the social conservatives still leave me disgusted with their objectives for government. No, "individual liberty" doesn't seem to apply to them. They're quick to point their fingers at the young party animals and say that they lack discipline and/or virtue, that society has lost our moral compass, that we need God in our hedonistic lives. On the surface they've got a lot of honorable virtues to strive for - everyone should work hard, be kind to others, be good to themselves, and have a fair amount of personal responsibility in whatever they do - but thanks to the evangelical Christians running the show, their idea of freedom doesn't apply to homosexuals or pot smokers. And I'm sure they would love to erase any memory of the 1960's and take us back to when shame and coercion ruled the roost, when anything not acceptable by the gatekeepers of the social mores was banned.

Well, I prefer that I keep and enjoy my "questionable" movies, music albums and websites. And I don't want my kids to grow up to experience an overtly restricted and repressed adulthood. What this world needs is not a return to the lame "good old days", but a brand new moral structure. One where maximum individual liberty goes hand in hand with genuine individual responsibility. One where we can eradicate the tired old disciplines of "if it's bad for some, it should be illegal for all", or "everyone gets punished for the actions of a few". That crap should have been left in elementary school.

The basis of this new morality would be an unwavering respect for the inalienable rights as elaborated by the Declaration of Independence: "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". The "pursuit of happiness" is, let's face it, why people drink or do drugs or have casual sex flings. Sure, if there's too much of it done, there can be dire consquences, such as death or disease. But if one knows their limits, and keeps everything in moderation, they should be able to do whatever makes them happy without fear of getting arrested because of it.

If a philosophical figure is needed, I would put forward one John Stuart Mill. Read his fantastic piece "On Liberty" and you'll see that he came to the same conclusion back in 1859. He believed that humanity as a whole would benefit from individuals being able to pursue whatever their heart desires, free of any frivolous social conformities, with just that minimal caveat of not harming others in the process. And in 1861's "The Subjection Of Women" he expounded favorably on women's rights and the need for gender equality, decades before the first American feminist movement.

I was delighted to find out more about this guy and his beliefs a few years ago. Back in the 1980's, mind you, John Stuart Mill was just a line in a funny Monty Python song that I first heard in their "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" film. But the 80's - and its nonconformist pop culture of Cyndi Lauper, Yahoo Serious and Reebok's "U.B.U." ads - helped shape my personal philosophy in a big way. So did the 1990's and the rampant experimentalism that alternative rock had in the earlier part of that decade. Life was a lot more exciting to me because of the unusual and eccentric people of the world.

What I see as a problem in society today is that the conformist ideals are creeping back to the forefront, with not enough outlets for people to be themselves. Our kids are uniformed and dress-coded to death... and while some rules are justified - for the sake of modesty and hygiene - there shouldn't be anything wrong with long hair on men or green hair on women. You'd think that we'd be more tolerant of tattoos, piercings and weird hair in this day and age, since hippies are now grandparents and Generation X is raising kids of all ages. As for saying it's distracting, nothing is really that distracting from schoolwork these days. You'd have to get Jim-Rose-Circus-Sideshow-type freaky to really cause a commotion in the 2010's. So let the kids have fun with their appearances, and keep in mind that everyone, young and old, needs to let their hair down and let off steam every once in a while. That's one pillar of my proposed new morality: expansive freedom of expression.

With that freedom of expression, though, comes another pillar of the new morality: personal responsibility. You gotta be mindful of the sensibilities and sensitivities of those around you. You shouldn't be yelling "FIRE" in a crowded theater, you shouldn't be blasting 2 Live Crew from your iPhone in a Baptist church, and you shouldn't have dreadlocks down to your ass if you're working at Burger King. It should be everyone's goal to graduate high school, get a college degree or other valuable training, learn and practice good manners and good hygiene, know your limits when it comes to drugs or alcohol (and either steer clear or partake in, yes, careful moderation), work hard and be productive members of society somehow.

As for sexuality and relationships, my only admonishments are: stay faithful to the one you're committed to; use protection in casual situations; and keep the raunchy stuff away from the children. Call it the "sexual sensibility" pillar. It's recognizing the fact that most of us are sexual beings, and that one's sexuality should never be the object of scorn or disrespect. And that's not to say that anything goes, or everything is permitted; cheating on one's steady partner, raping anyone against their will, or propositioning someone under the age of consent should still be considered heinous and shameful. But as far as I'm concerned, prostitutes, porn actors and (responsible) exhibitionists are all still deserving of respect. And a homosexual relationship is just as valid as a heterosexual one.

Finally, this pillar is crucially important: tact and tolerance. This goes for race, religion and politics. My definition of tact is basically "not coming to blows". Save the physical fighting for controlled environments such as professional wrestling. And tolerance means respecting one another's beliefs, boundaries and rights. We can debate, exchange ideas and air our differences with a little fervor and passion - you can have the occasional shouting match as long as such outbursts are kept brief - but keep your hands to yourself. You can practice your religion - however unconventional it may be - as long as you don't impose your religion's restrictions on the non-believers or violate other followers' lives and liberties in the process. People constantly change. They'll seek to improve their state of being, and question what they believe in. If you're nice about your religion and your way of life, they just might give your system a try.

This can be the new foundation of moral values and virtues, something we can point to when others accuse us of having no shame or no moral compass. This can be a morality that everyone can live under, as it doesn't discriminate unfairly, impose draconian conformity or disparage those who would like to stick with their traditional beliefs. This, I believe, is something we can all work together to achieve, something that retains the good of the traditional and does away with that which is unnecessary and/or repressive. Let's set a new morality in motion... and leave this world in a better condition than it was when we entered it.

It's Oscar season again. The nominations have been announced, the parties are being planned, the boutiques are busy with starlets shopping for fancy dresses, and all the buzz is building after the also-ran award ceremonies passed their trinkets out.

I saw three of the Best Picture nominees - Toy Story 3, The Social Network and Black Swan - and wanted to see a fourth (Inception) but never got around to it. I'd like one of those to win. But it's looking like The King's Speech might grab all or most of the honors.

I really DON'T want that to win. For one thing, it looks like one of those films that was tailor-made to be an award-winner. For another - and this is one of my film pet peeves - it's a movie that barely met the deadline for 2010 Oscar consideration (released in New York & Los Angeles before 2010 ended) but was not available to the general American public until now. In 2011.

If the Academy Awards are supposed to honor the best of a particular year, you should really have all of the American public see the film IN THAT YEAR. If it were up to me, the film should be in wide release before the year ends in order to qualify for that year. Otherwise it's more of a sensation for the actual year that everyone sees it.

I'm used to being swindled by Oscar picks, though (and 2010 was full of stuff I didn't want winning but they won anyway) so it's not that much of a big deal. I didn't want Gandhi, Driving Miss Daisy, The English Patient and Million Dollar Baby to win, so what do I know, right?

While we're on the subject of film pet peeves, here's another one: What's the big deal about moving most or all of the credits to the end of the film? This one doesn't really bother me except for when they don't even show the film TITLE at the beginning. To me the movie's not really underway until I see the name of the movie. Besides, why make someone sit through a movie before they realize they're in the wrong one? Showing the title at the beginning is not only the right thing to do; it's a common courtesy.

I'm guessing the order of the credits is either a union thing or just a mutually-agreed-upon accepted practice. You know: presenting film studio, A (whatever) production, A (whatever director) film, biggest actors in the film (this one's optional), film title, lead actors, casting person, a few other technical positions, executive producer, script writer, screenplay writer (or based on whatever), producer, and finally director. Occasionally the film title is moved to after the director credit, which I thought was pretty cool.

Now that films are shifting everything to the end, the order seems a little awkward. And it usually goes like: first the director, then the screenplay writer, then script writer, producer, executive producer, basically everything in reverse up to casting, THEN we see the lead actors, and after that the rest of the credits. The film's title, if moved to the end, could be: a) the first thing we see after the end of the film (before the director); b) just before the actor credits; c) after the lead actor credits; or d) when all the "big names" are done, and just before the vertical scroll of the rest of the folks involved with the movie.

My preference, if they have to wait until the end for the title, would be option A. And for minimum awkwardness and maximum logic, it SHOULD go: Film title, A (whatever) production, lead actors, director, writer, producer, and then do what you like.

It's been a gradual evolution, right? Remember when ALL the credits came at the beginning of the film, and all you saw at the end was "THE END"? That all started to shift in the 1960's and 1970's. Is this an artistic decision, that you want your film's look unspoiled by as little credits as possible? Is it just "the thing to do these days"? Or is it a time-saving measure, like Kevin Smith did with his Dogma film? I remember him talking about having to trim many a scene out of Dogma just to get it close to two hours. I saw the script online, and I read where there was an elaborate opening-credit sequence involving an old man arriving at a hospital and going through the usual check-in and hook-up drill. By the time the film came out, all that was shown was the "Dogma" title, no elaborate sequence. So I'm guessing that's another reason for the credit shift to the end.

At any rate, good luck to all (or most, anyway) of the Oscar-nominated films and the nominated people involved with them. We'll see what plays out on February 27th.

I know it looks like I'm piling on here about Texas, but dammit, I love this state and it pains me to see it fall into the wrong hands. And as it stands now, the Republicans have a steel grip on state power and the Democrats in Texas seem anemic, not able to mount any kind of serious challenge to state offices. The far-left liberals have taken over, the conservative masses declared, and we're gonna fight tooth and nail for our values.

And in 2010, the GOP and their conservative populace have proven that they could get away with almost anything. Rick "Roosevelt" Perry is not only a career politician, but now a firmly entrenched one as well. He doesn't even have to debate the other side, he knows he's gonna get re-elected as long as he wants to stay in power. The State Board of Education could rewrite history in school materials - playing up their right-wing icons, replacing biology textbooks with the Book of Genesis, and airbrushing Thomas Jefferson out of the national picture - and they know they'll have job security as long as people are knee-jerk voting straight-ticket Republican at the ballot boxes.

It wouldn't bother me as much if these conservatives truly believed in limited government through and through. But the social conservatives in the GOP seem to be blatantly hypocritical in this resolve. Keep government out of our lives! But don't let the homos marry! Free commerce! But don't let anyone buy pot! Freedom and liberty in our great nation... but we prefer that you wait until marriage to have sex, and that you raise children in a two-parent household. (And yes, we mean a mom AND dad in that two-parent household.) Because you're not a REAL American if you live an "alternative lifestyle".

As much as I'm heartened by seeing some genuine progress in the advancement of gay rights and marriage equality on the red side, I'm disgusted and baffled by the efforts of the social conservatives to push this back at all costs. There's quite a few conservative organizations that are boycotting the upcoming Conservative Political Action Conference, just because CPAC is allowing a gay conservative group, GOProud, to set up shop there. There's a barrage of ridicule from the bible-beaters directed at those who, if they didn't support gay marriage, would otherwise be model conservatives. And bringing it back to Texas, there are those who want to bring back the anti-sodomy laws on the grounds that the federal government, Lawrence v. Texas notwithstanding, has no authority in regulating this type of stuff.

All things considered, I'm getting sick of one party - especially the narrow-minded side of that party - always getting its way in my beloved state. So I'm placing the call out.

Not to the Democrats. You can stay in your overpriced, overtaxed, over-regulated bicoastal cities. I don't want big-government liberal types migrating to Texas and causing my cost of living to skyrocket. And besides, even if you were a more conservative-centrist type of Democrat, chances are you'll still get beat by the GOP just for even associating with Obama and the liberals.

No, I want Texas to be the hub of libertarianism. There's plenty of right-wing pundits that are libertarian-friendly, and rightly so: Libertarians favor less taxes and less government, just like the GOP, but when it comes to social issues, most libertarians are laissez-faire and don't want the government to be coercive one way or the other. In fact, some of these socially liberal factions don't realize that they would be better off taking up the libertarian banner... such as those for gay rights or legalizing marijuana.

There's a lot of people out there - those who are fiscally conservative yet socially progressive - that would be better off in the Libertarian Party, Democrats and Republicans alike. And according to the recent census, a lot of us are moving to Texas at a constant pace. So instead of feeding the Republican beast, I encourage you to strengthen the Texas Libertarian Party.

The Texas GOP isn't going to change its tune on social issues... it's obvious they're wrapped around the collective fingers of the religious fundamentalists. And the Democrats are gonna remain anemic as long as they play up socialism and social justice. Let's beef up the Libertarian side, make it a major party in Texas, and return parity to our state's political system.

It couldn't be easier for a third party to gain power in Texas. You don't need over 50% of the popular vote to win an office, you just have to have the most votes overall (as was sickeningly demonstrated back in 2006). If we could just tear away enough people from the endless donkey-and-pachyderm show, an alternative party could very well gain power in Texas, and encourage other states to follow suit.

So how about it, people? All you independents out there, all you Tea Partiers who claim to not swear allegiance to the GOP, all of you who want the government to be fiscally responsible, but not controlling of individuals' lifestyles... I think the Libertarian Party would be right for you. And it would have the greatest potential of any of these also-ran parties to cause a major upheaval, one that hasn't been seen since the mid-19th century when the Whigs were still around.

What was this now, the "Year We Make Contact"? Let's see, what kind of "contact" did I make here? I contacted a bunch of cartoonists in person for the first time. Jaden's mom made contact with us. A long lost member of Kristi's family made contact with them.

Anyway, 2010 was one of those up-and-down years for me. At least the ups outnumbered the downs a little.

BEST MOMENT OF 2010: I'm the closest yet to adopting a couple of kids. The one we've been keeping for a while now is in the middle of getting his adoption process straightened out. And in October we received another bundle of joy, in the form of a 6-month-old baby girl. CPS says we have a good chance of adopting her. The family that has ruthlessly eluded me for years is finally manifesting itself, and yes, I welcome it with open arms. RUNNERS-UP: Taking my first plane trip in almost a decade, to Boston and surrounding New England areas; meeting the creators of some of my favorite comics at the Webcomics Weekend during said plane trip; reacquainting myself with the Mac environment by purchasing a brand new MacBook laptop; and finally getting to go to Mardi Gras in Galveston again after a three-year absence, with the added bonus of watching Jaden experience his first Mardi Gras parade.

WORST MOMENT OF 2010: Having to bail out of the Dallas Webcomics Expo. All I'm gonna say is I made some bad business decisions, a couple of things blew up in my face, and I decided to leave the "Triumvirate". With a new member of the household I needed to simplify my life and leave some time-sapping stuff behind anyway. Still, I slightly miss being at the helm of a convention movement that was picking up steam a little. RUNNERS-UP: Losing my hybrid car after some asshole plowed into it in front of my house one night; my general disgust with Texas politics, what with Rick "Roosevelt" Perry winning a third term of the governorship and the religious right tightening their grip on the GOP; a night of vomiting, diarrhea and very little sleep a couple of weeks ago; and some family Christmas drama in which I won't elaborate further.

WEIRDEST TWIST OF EVENTS OF 2010: My brother and his wife have separated. The "weird twist of events" part is that they were secretly like this for many months, and it wasn't until this fall that the cat was let out of the bag. I certainly give them credit for hiding it well.

BIGGEST "I'M SUCH AN OLD FART NOW" MILESTONE OF 2010: A tie between Josh turning 21 and me seeing the movie "Hot Tub Time Machine". Though it was fun to spot the anachronisms in the supposed 1986 environment. And now, everything that had its beginning in 1986 will be celebrating their silver anniversaries in 2011. Oh yeah, did I mention we're now four years away from the "future" destination year in "Back To The Future II"?

TOM'S TOP 20 OF 2010

1. Freak - Smashing Pumpkins: The classic Pumpkins sound rides again. Well, classic as of 1995, anyway. "Freak" is one of their best in the new "Teargarden By Kaleidyscope" effort, taking me back to their "Mellon Collie" days.

2. Tighten Up - The Black Keys: I so love the groove on this one. It's like the White Stripes and Gnarls Barkley teaming up. Oh yeah, and speaking of Gnarls...

3. Fuck You - Cee-Lo: A combination of clever wordplay and old-school soul.

4. Born Free - Kid Rock: ...and the Silver Bullet Band. Okay, not really, but this does sound like Bob Seger in his prime.

5. Pretty Good At Drinkin' Beer - Billy Currington: Best country song I've heard in a while.

6. Always Malaise - Interpol: I like the Joy Division vibe that Interpol has in their sound, but on this track, damn if they don't sound like Depeche Mode as well.

7. Don't Shoot (I'm A Man) - Devo: A biting yet catchy commentary on the state of the male persuasion these days.

8. Country Boy - Aaron Lewis: The lead singer of Staind showcases his inner Merle Haggard on this haunting acoustic number.

9. We Are The World 25 - Artists For Haiti: I had to include this one in the Top 10, for the worthy cause and the fresh makeover, including a rap break that was really moving.

10. Derezzed - Daft Punk: The people behind "Tron: Legacy" couldn't have picked a better act to do the soundtrack to the movie.

11. Did It On 'Em - Nicki Minaj
12. Memories - Weezer
13. Waiting For The End - Linkin Park
14. Runaway - Kanye West
15. No Love - Eminem & Lil Wayne
16. Radioactive - Kings Of Leon
17. Awesome World - Death Death Die
18. The Toadlickers - Thomas Dolby
19. Concerns of a GOP Neophyte - NOFX
20. Love Hate Sex Pain - Godsmack

And now time for a NEW Dissection feature, because too many good songs were falling through the cracks:

TOP 5 SONGS OF 2010 THAT CAME OUT BEFORE 2010

1. Lay Me Down - Dirty Heads featuring Rome Ramirez: A modern-day "Take The Money And Run" on a reggae tip.

2. Dog Days Are Over - Florence & The Machine: A Siouxsie & The Banshees for a new generation.

3. Savior - Rise Against: I first thought this was Offspring. I feel so out of touch with modern music sometimes.

4. Little Lion Man - Mumford & Sons

5. Undisclosed Desires - Muse

I'm over the election now. All I'm gonna say is, if the ridiculously short legislative session in Texas adjourns without any work getting done in our problem spots - especially the transportation funding crisis, where TxDOT is scheduled to go bankrupt in 2012 - I'm gonna sport a huge grin and say "I told you so".

And now there's gonna be more Republicans in power than ever here in Texas. The prospects of a new "Solid South" are disturbing to say the least. Democrats are still winning seats in the urban areas, but out in the country and the smaller towns, people are voting straight-ticket GOP almost as a reflex action, just like their ancestors knee-jerk voted Democrat a century ago. This kind of single-party rule is dangerous for society... we can only look at your average third-world country, where one political party stays in power and their dictator has the reins for as long as they want them (usually until they die), to see what a lack of opposition and a lack of debate can corrupt a political system.

Look, I get it... the tax-and-spend far left has taken over the Democratic Party and most of Texas doesn't feel like that's the way to run a government anymore, at any level. But until I start seeing GOP politicians supporting the gays and the pot-smokers, and until I start hearing more rock and hip-hop music at Tea Party or other conservative-minded rallies, I'm staying the fuck away from the Republicans.

I haven't forgotten about 1992, when the Republicans declared culture war on everything that didn't fit in their good-old-days mold. That was when I first realized the GOP wasn't acting in my social best interests. I supported George W. Bush in 2000 because I was hoping "compassionate conservative" partly meant being mellow on social issues. And we all know what happened after that.

Why is freedom of choice still an issue these days? And I'm not talking about abortion here. I mean the freedom to choose your sexual partner - regardless of gender - and if you wish to marry him/her, get all the benefits of marriage bestowed by society. I'm talking about the freedom to ingest anything that's palatable to you as long as nobody else is hurt in the process. We, the men and women raised on Lollapalooza and/or Garth Brooks, are supposed to be the generation that finally cast aside the old nanny-state conventions, those of "I don't like (x), my church says (x) is wrong even though it doesn't harm anyone, so I want laws in place that make (x) illegal." (Why mention Garth Brooks in this respect? Look up "We Shall Be Free" on YouTube.)

Yeah, I know what you, Joe Hardcore Conservative, are going to say: "If you liberals don't like our way of life, then get the hell out and move to California or New York". Yeah, sure, I'll just leave all my family and friends, go someplace where I don't know anybody, try and find a job, and either divorce my wife and leave my kids, or uproot my family and ship them against their will to some strange land where THEY won't know anybody, all because I don't like a couple of rules imposed on me by a state and you don't like me standing here saying that.

What's with the tribalistic mentality of some people these days? That we have to resort to what amounts to bloodless coercive "ethnic cleansing"? If you wanted to only be around like-minded people like yourself, I thought that's what churches and private clubs were for. The big-picture stuff like jobs, taxes and governmental budgets should be engagingly debated and be settled at the federal and state level... but if it were up to me, social concerns like prostitution, gambling, drugs and dress codes would be handled at the city level.

I'd like to think a law would work where if all but one city bans a particular thing in a county, that last city has to keep it legal, so that people aren't forced to drive half a day or more to the only place where they can get it. It's all legal (or at least easily accessible) and you get to keep your house. But I know that as long as some people want to control others, that shit won't fly.

I'm not trying to propagate a hippie-dippie "let's all join hands and sing Kumbaya together" scene, but why can't people just live and let live? If we all followed John Stuart Mill's musings in "On Liberty" - do what you want as long as no one else is harmed - we could truly bring about world peace, or something damn close to it. And no one would be forced to move anywhere.

As much as I'd hate to admit, Bieber-mania. I never heard of this kid until he sang on the "We Are The World 25" thing... and all of a sudden, he's everywhere.

It was one of those quirky shows that enthralled me as a little kid: A bunch of kids dancing around four red-and-yellow-striped letters, tackling challenges sent in from viewers, and on occasion speaking like that one guy in the "Fat Albert" cartoon.

Have you guessed what it is? Come on, give it a try. Well, the title of this blog does have the name in it. Yes, I'm talking about "Zoom".

"Zoom" was a half-hour kids' program that was broadcast on public television from 1972 to 1978, and revived for a second go-round from 1999 to 2006. A product of WGBH in Boston - and a fixture on KUHT in the Houston area - "Zoom" was a modest success, with kids from all over (yours truly included) sending in self-addressed stamped envelopes to "Box three-five-oh, Boston, Mass, ohhh-two-one-three-four" and receiving a "Zoom Card" in return with full-color pictures of cast members and projects for you to try yourself.

"Zoom" was all about doing new stuff, meeting people from all over the world, and performing songs and sketches sent in by viewers. Segments range from "Zoom-Do's" (small projects to undertake) to "Zoom-Phenomenons" (fun science facts) to "Zoom-usic" (musical numbers). One fun and famous recurring segment was "Ubbi-Dubbi" speak, where you inserted "B" sounds into your words - subbo thabbit yoobou tabbalked libbike thibbis. Yes, it got occasionally strange - can you kiss your own elbow? - but it was a fun ride while it lasted.

It was sad that "Zoom" never got the longevity and legendary status of a "Sesame Street", "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" or "Barney"… but I'm glad that it did become a cult classic, enough for it to warrant a segment on VH1's "I Love The 70's". And I was happy to see "Zoom" make a comeback in the early 2000's to entertain and motivate a new generation of youngsters.

Recently I took a trip to Boston, and one of the planned stops on the itinerary was the WGBH studios. I wondered if they still had the original "ZOOM" letters or any other little set pieces. As it turns out, WGBH built a brand new studio building in 2006, and the building where all the "Zoom" tapings occurred was abandoned and turned over to Harvard Business School. Fortunately I was able to get the location of the old studios.



And while my schedule couldn't fit in a tour of the new studio - seriously, WGBH? Wednesdays and Saturdays only? - I did the next best thing: seek out the post office where all those self-addressed stamped envelopes arrived at. It was in the Allston part of town, a quaint little post office on a busy street.



And here it is, folks… the famous P.O. box itself.



"Zoom" is dearly missed by myself and no doubt millions of other forty-somethings (and teenagers too). Let's hope WGBH brings it back for another rubbun.