There are a lot of things about me that you don't know.

I used to hate Rock Band. I thought it was perverse. That was, until I played it. Now, I can't get enough.

I used to think American Idol was ridiculous. I guess I still do, but that doesn't stop me from watching it and enjoying it. 

I used to hate herbal tea. No flavor. What's the point? Just add milk and sugar dummy. Now I love it. 

There are lots of things you don't know about me. 

Less Talk More Soft Rock

Every once in a while, as impulse permits, I get the urge to find some good 'pop-music' on the radio while I am driving to work. This phenomenon is perhaps akin to buying chocolate-covered pistachios at Trader Joes--a delicious treat to be sure, but I am not a treat kind of guy.I like leftovers and chips. Anyway, every time I indulge this desire I end up surfing until I find a nice soft-rock station. Here in San Francisco that station happens to be KOIT. I don't know how it happens, and I don't know if I should be ashamed. It's as if there is some thirst in my subconscious that can only be quenched with soft rock. Without thinking I instinctively remove my hand from the search button and gently place it back on the wheel as soon as the soothing tones of one of the 1970's greatest augmentations to rock'n'roll makes its way from the speakers to my eardrums. It is a catharsis. It is mom singing you to sleep. It is a guilty pleasure that you feel no guilt about. Yesterday, it was Chicago with, "You're the Inspiration." At other times it has been George Michael, Michael McDonald, and Sarah McGlaughlin. I am not ashamed. Bring it on KOIT. Less talk, more soft rock please. 

Am I the only one who will not be disappointed if Barack Obama ends up being the conciliatory, level-headed, intelligent, kind, objective thinker that I voted for? Already, I have heard pundits and apparent intellectuals bemoan what they see as a potentially crippling shortcoming in Obama's obsessive commitment to reaching across the aisle, making friends, and surrounding himself with people who seem to be committed to thinking without the moral shackles of dogmatic ideologies. 

President Obama is the first Black President. Does that mean he has to be a black president? He had the most "liberal" voting record in the Senate (a relatively non-descriptive adjective indicating not too much more than voting on the other side of Bush policies). Does that mean he has to be the most liberal president? Will he fail the American people if he tries to do what is best for all American people? I thought we were the post-partisan, post-racial, post-civil rights generation. Shouldn't we let our president represent that? Isn't that the Hope, and the Change, that we rallied around?

Ah Blagojevich!

In response to the Illinois' House of Representatives 114 to 1 vote in favor of an unprecedented impeachment, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich held a press conference voicing his complaints over what can only be referred to as a playground-like estrangement from the legislative body that apparently prevented his implementation of several social projects that could have otherwise benefited Illinois like, withholding funds for childrens' hospitals in lieu of campaign contributions, or preventing personal capital gains for pay-to-play endeavors. Ok, ok, we all know that this guy is as corrupt and silly as they come these days, but what I really want to know, and what the NY Times failed to explain, are the identities of the individuals pictured behind the governor in this photograph. Are they his slaves? It appears that there is a small child lying face down on the floor. Is this intentional? Did he kill this child for not paying his way onto the dais? None of these people look particularly interested in what is going on, nor do they look very happy. Do they even know why they are there, or did some Blagojevich aide coerce them from the street? This is really too comical. At first, I thought that this story was going to be an incredible screenplay that could possibly make a sweep at some future Academy Awards night, but comedies never win Oscars. 

What does this mean?

According to my best intuition, the photo shoot banter went like this:

George H.W. Bush: "I know Barack, you are a lot smarter than Junior."

Barack Obama: "Yeah, and I'm a lot cooler."

George W. Bush: "Homerun! heh, heh."

Bill Clinton: "This furniture would probably look good in my office."

Jimmy Carter: "I need to keep my distance, because if I catch cold the doctor said I would disintegrate."

...or something like that.

What's your ideal job?

My ideal job would be talking--just talk about whatever. An appendage and subsidiary job to the ideal would be that of a notetaker, occasionally writing something someone else would want to read. I would report to work everyday and be given a topic and start talking about it. The destination of the discussion would be secondary to simply letting the discourse flow. It would resolve itself, rather than passively being resolved in the interest of time. When something profound is stated it would be written down. When something trivial is stated it would be left alone and the discussion would progress seamlessly over it. Today I would talk about how productive I have been at work g-chatting and then writing this useless paragraph.

I have a new New Year's resolution. It begins with the letter, "this picture is awesome."

So here is a shocker. I am a huge college football fan. Further, I am a huge Penn State Football fan. Consequently, I had a hard time on New Year's Day during the Rose Bowl. USC, although arguably the best college football team in the nation, represents a portion of what I detest about the athletic industrial complex. The press loves USC. The fans love USC. Disneyland loves USC. Who doesn't love USC? 

Pete Carroll, who rakes in $2-3 million dollars a year, always coaching with his boyish beach bro smile--ugh, it makes me barfy--is never camera-shy. What is it about LA that turns people into celebrities? Pete Carroll is a football coach, right? Could've had me fooled. Every time I see a postgame wrap-up with the cast and crew of the USC Trojans I almost expect to see Ryan Seacrest and the team from the E! Network. 

Last time I checked Joe Paterno, the winningest coach in college football history, makes $1/2 million a year despite his 50 year reign at Penn State, and gives most of it away to charity. Furthermore, his modest ranch home that I used to ride my bike past sits in a neighborhood of engineering professors, primary school teachers, contractors, and yes, Joe the plumbers. That is a far cry from Pete Carroll's $2 million palatial estate in Rancho Palos Verdes among the sycophantic celebs of the LA coastline. 

What is up with the Hollywood complex that seems to have all network commentators duped?If it was up to Kirk Herbstreit and Lee Corso, the starting lineup of the USC Trojans would have Nobel Prizes, get gold stars, and probably would have beat out Barack Obama for the presidency. So what if pretty much every player at USC, including the waterboys, will be drafted into the NFL. So what if all of their receivers are 6' 5" and run 4.3 forties. I could do that. Besides, who wants to make millions of dollars to get injured anyway. No thanks. Penn State football players have it made. Go low in the draft, sit the bench for a few years, and then do something else. I am a bit cynical I suppose. I just get sensitive about my redneck, blue-collar roots sometimes. So what if California has sunshine and Pennsylvania doesn't, and who cares if USC beat Penn State. We could probably beat them in a sauerkraut eating contest.

My right ear is bigger than my left ear. How do I get over this misery? I drown it out with running and scope.

This is the first post that I have made in months, years even...one year even. What do I have to show for it? A lot has happened since I last submitted a healthy piece of prose to this cyber-publisher. USA Volleyball came out on top in Beijing. Penn State Volleyball downed Pepperdine in the Mens Volleyball National Championship. Obama Baracked the vote. Steve Chu was appointed as the new Secretary of Energy. Chad Hokama rediscovered his adolescence. Penn State finished 11-2 falling to the supermen of USC in the Rose Bowl. My sister Emma got her driver's license. I moved to San Francisco...by myself, and stuff. 

Let's focus on something I can really get excited about. Steve Chu. Joining the ranks of an already impressive team of scholars, this Nobel laureate, adds a voice that really makes me shiver.This cabinet, of at least intellectually rivaled individuals (not idealogues), has something to show for the specialized positions that they are filling. For the first time in history foreign policy, security policy, environmental policy, energy policy, etc. will find intersections that have not been crossed for a long while in the halls of congress and the White House. 

That's about it.