Ambitious Paradox

The best composition for wind ensemble I was ever a part of. I...

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:59:05 -0500

The best composition for wind ensemble I was ever a part of. I love weird time signatures!

I forgot how much I love this symphony. Perfect reading music...

Mon, 28 May 2012 23:12:36 -0500

I forgot how much I love this symphony. Perfect reading music tonight.

James Keelaghan at the Kerrvile Folk Festival

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:19:33 -0500

James Keelaghan at the Kerrvile Folk Festival

Bein’ crafty (Taken with Instagram at Kerrville Folk...

Sat, 26 May 2012 18:52:27 -0500

Bein’ crafty (Taken with Instagram at Kerrville Folk Festival)

Kidsville hula hoop (Taken with Instagram at Kerrville Folk...

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:39:53 -0500

Kidsville hula hoop (Taken with Instagram at Kerrville Folk Festival)

Obama and Romney are more alike than different, and that's a GOOD thing!

Mon, 21 May 2012 17:58:21 -0500

Obama and Romney are more alike than different, and that's a GOOD thing!:

The fact that Obama and Romney, left to their own devices, might well meet in the middle and find common ground, Sabato says, “is literally irrelevant. Their party bases will not permit them to do so, and their own partisan activists will go after them hard if they try to compromise too much. Or maybe at all.”

This statement is depressing because it’s a true representation of what modern politics has become. It no longer matters what is. It only matters that my team beats your team. Middle ground is dead. No holds barred. Take no prisoners. All or nothing. With us or against us. The battle has become more important than the outcome. It’s sickening. We are all people. We essentially want the same things (“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”). We may disagree about the details, but we can’t allow that disagreement to let us lose our humanity. No more name-calling. No more attacking character. Obama and Romney both seem to be genuinely good guys. Whatever faults one may have, the other has his fair share too. Accept that and move on. Debate the issues, not the ideologies. But most importantly, whoever wins the presidential election, I hope people can remember that we are more alike than different, and the world will keep spinning.

Dinner on the patio (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:09:25 -0500

Dinner on the patio (Taken with instagram)

Photo Journal of Weekend Trip to New Braunfels

Sun, 13 May 2012 23:07:36 -0500

Photo Journal of Weekend Trip to New Braunfels:

We went to New Braunfels this weekend with some friends from church. While there, we floated in the river, went to Schlitterbahn Waterpark, and had a great time. On the way home, I finally figured out how to use iPhoto for iPad and loved it. I put together one of the new photo journals that it can create. Those are super cool! Very ‘web 2.0’ and very useful. I only hope Apple makes it easier to view and share these journals. Until then, here’s a link.

Arguably my favorite album of 2012 so far. Well done, Mr. White.

Wed, 09 May 2012 23:11:33 -0500

Arguably my favorite album of 2012 so far. Well done, Mr. White.

Playing “Do It Anyway” ad nauseum lately left me...

Mon, 07 May 2012 23:29:26 -0500

Playing “Do It Anyway” ad nauseum lately left me nostalgic for more traditional faire.

A Child's Mind is Like a Salvatore Dali Painting [Repost]

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:57:08 -0500

As I mentioned in a previous post, in lieu of importing all of my archived blog posts from Wordpress (because Tumblr can’t import), I’m going to periodically repost some of my favorites old blog entries. This is the next such post. You can read the original with comments here. For the full archive go to jasonact.wordpress.com.

[Originally posted March 17, 2007]

Although they certain have their special attributes, I don’t think my children are unique in one particular regard. I’m sure that many other parents think their children do the oddest, cutest, most random things. But good grief, if other kids do this much of it, how would parents get anything done. All they would want to do is watch and pay with their kids. Again, I don’t think my kids are terribly unique in this regard, but living with them gives me an inside look at kids that I never would have gotten anywhere else.

For example, I am constantly amazed at Aidan’s drive and determined attitude when he is creating one of legendary “projects”. We were at my grandparent’s house today. Aidan took the garden hose and tied it to a tree. He then took the other end and tied it to another tree. My grandmother helped him bring out a couple of bar stools, which he claims provided the “glue” of the project. Throw in a patio table and a blanket, and he had some contraption that he claimed allowed trees to be shared between people. I have no idea what he was talking about, but I was struck by the determination with

which he created his project. It was hard work wrapping that garden hose around the trees, and he put everything into it. I love watching his indoor creations even more. He will use couch cushions, dining room chairs, and any other structure he can. One significant feature of the indoor “projects”, however, is that they are almost always symmetrical. I don’t know why, but Aidan insists on them being perfectly symmetrical, meaning that if there is a chair on one side, there MUST be a chair on the other side. I don’t think he knows why. He just knows that’s the way it should be.

I am quickly learning that Regan is not all that different in her quirkiness, although she doesn’t have the same engineering flare. I hate to say it, but Regan carries a more stereotypically feminine aspect into her oddities. For instance, she has these mock high heal shoes that her Auntie Ro gave her for Christmas. Although they are way too big for her (perhaps made for a 5 or 6 year-old), she has learned how to walk in them very well and insists on doing so as often as possible. She loves to dance. She’s got moves that most 2-year-olds simply dream of. She even matches her dance to the style of music. More than that, she loves dressing up, talking on her “cell phone”, wearing sunglasses, pushing her dolls around in strollers, and shopping. I mean, come on– SHOPPING! How did that happen? Where did that come from? And what confuses me even more is that I find it cute. It is freaking adorable. But that’s not all that fascinates me about Regan. She is fascinated with books. She will sit in her room and “read” for a long time. She loves all kinds of books. She will read to us, but of course she loves it much more when we read to her. But her love of books actually borders on an obsession. They are sacred. They contain special meaning for her. Again I ask, where did this come from? Sure, we’ve read to her most of her life, but that’s not nearly enough to explain her obsession. Shoes and books: Regan’s two loves. Neither Kari nor I actively encouraged this, but here we are.

I need to post a better picture of one of Aidan’s projects; they truly are artworks in their own right. I also need to post some video of Regan’s dancing; it is very entertaining and impressive. So I continue to be fascinated with the growing minds of my children. They are really challenging my presumptions about child development, the nature/nurture debate, and my own ideas about identity and the emergent mind. Although I began my life as a parent expecting to teach my children, but of course I have found that they teach me more than I ever dreamed. Their minds and lives are free and unencumbered by the necessities of life, so they are free to simply be. What a bizarre notion.

Note: Click here for a new photo album of the kids that I uploaded today.

Kids at Operation (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 16:36:48 -0500

Kids at Operation (Taken with instagram)

Southwest Chipotle Chicken Salad, #Astros style (Taken with...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 19:15:48 -0500

Southwest Chipotle Chicken Salad, #Astros style (Taken with Instagram at Minute Maid Park)

Safe to say @sleighbells puts on a good show (Taken with...

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:23:38 -0500

Safe to say @sleighbells puts on a good show (Taken with Instagram at Warehouse Live)

Saw @sleighbells tonight. They were awesome. Here’s...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 23:57:50 -0500

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Saw @sleighbells tonight. They were awesome. Here’s Comeback Kid.

This is @javelinjamz. They’re good music. (Taken with...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 22:20:19 -0500

This is @javelinjamz. They’re good music. (Taken with Instagram at Warehouse Live)

Waiting for Sleigh Bells to take the stage (Taken with Instagram...

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:43:45 -0500

Waiting for Sleigh Bells to take the stage (Taken with Instagram at Warehouse Live)

Behind the scenes of the talent show at the (mostly) all girl...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 23:35:58 -0500

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

Behind the scenes of the talent show at the (mostly) all girl sleepover.

Sizing up the shot (Taken with Instagram at Main Event Pool...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 21:32:05 -0500

Sizing up the shot (Taken with Instagram at Main Event Pool Section)

iOS6

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:47:13 -0500

iOS6:

Random prediction: #iOS6 will feature side-by-side apps for iPad, now that it has retina display.