Personal Political See-saw & Dream Ticket

I'm having the hardest time choosing between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the March 4th Texas Primary. It's a toss up between hope and experience: Obama has brought hope and inspiration, while Clinton has been there before, so to speak. So it's a tough call.

I've been caught up in Obama's inspiring words and I want to send my vote his way, but his relative lack of experience bugs me just enough to let doubt creep into the room. But hearing him speak really moves me. He gives Bill Clinton, whom I've thought to be the best orator of my generation, a run for his money. Gees, he beat out Bill for the Spoken Word Grammy just recently!

On the other hand, I think Hillary Clinton has the best experience of all candidates, as she's lived in the White House as First Lady for 8 years. It's hard to beat that kind of experience. But she's such a polarizing figure on the political scene, and I think that has become a liability. Many Republicans have a tremendous hatred for her and see her as a divisive individual. So I guess it depends on if one seeks inspiration or experience. Unless....

...you talk about my Dream Ticket: Clinton/Obama.

First of all, having Obama on your ticket means that he'll bring in a serious amount of crossover voters, these so-called Obama-cans: Republicans voting for Obama. That's a big plus. Clinton has all that White House experience and hopefully a sense of knowing what not to do and how to do things the right way and not waste her chance at righting the ship that is America.

Having Obama as VP means that he'll be the "president" of the Senate. He'll more apt to create a sense of togetherness, a "uniter" if you will. No longer will the US have someone who's first inclination will be to look after the betterment of his political party, i.e., Dick Cheney, but finally someone who will have the interests of the American people in mind. Obama will serve as a gentle persuader to remind those across the aisle that all their work is the American people and not for political gains.

That would be something, wouldn't it: Hillary Clinton for President and Barack Obama as Vice President? It's possible, but it could work the other way around, but I don't think it'll be the same as the first option.

We'll see how things turn out after March 4th. Either way, it'll be very exciting whatever the outcome.

A Local Gem: Miguel Antonio

I had the pleasure of visiting De Tapas in Addison over the weekend and had a wonderful time listening to the classical guitar sounds of Miguel Antonio. Being that I had to take my wife out for our anniversary, hearing his beautiful flamenco inspired riffs more than made up for that. All I can say is: Wow! The way he strummed through Joaquín Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Fantasía para un Gentilhombre were beyond spectacular.

The first time I saw him was several years ago at SMU's Caruth Auditorium while I was in graduate school there. Talk about an amazing show! The Dallas/Fort Worth music scene is better because of Miguel Antonio's talent. This cabellero is truly a local gem. And it is a privilege to see and hear him play.

¡Olé!

Super Bowl

Yahoo! Sports columnist Michael Silver gives his top picks for the best Super Bowl game of all time in his most recent column. I pretty much agree with his picks, especially that he put the most recent game on the list and along with the St. Louis-Tennessee game from 2000. I still can't bear to watch the last second play without getting emotional. Even when I replay it in my head, I still hope for Kevin Dyson to elude the game saving tackle!

Further down the column you should come across the "Lyric-Altered Song Dedication of the Week" for everyone's enjoyment. The altered song is Radiohead's Karma Police and the alteration is great. I love to alter song lyrics and am pretty notorious for doing that to beloved songs. My favorite is to one of REO Speedwagon's best known hits. It starts a little like this: "Heard it from a friend who... heard it from a friend who... heard it from a friend you've been fucking around." Love it!

Unhappy Valentine

I hate Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday, it even lags behind Arbor Day and Flag Day, and that's because I could care less about those "holidays." And the thing is, I've always considered myself a romantic, but I guess several years of marriage will do that to a guy. But I've always felt this way about Valentine's Day. It must be all the hype surrounding this holiday that really gets me. It's like, "Here honey, he's bunch of flowers that will wilt and die in a few days time and you'll end up getting me to clean up all the dead leaves and flowers." Or, "Here's a box of chocolates for you dear. Just don't come complaining back to me in a few days saying how fat you feel." It's just a big waste in my opinion. And don't get me started on much they jack up the prices for a measely dozen roses! They cost at least twice as much another other day throughout the year.

I also have another reason why I feel a certain disdain for this "special" day: my wedding anniversary is a few days prior so I have to deal with the ramifications of having to endure both days in a week's time. I used to joke that no one would get any Christmas gifts from me because I would have save up the money to get my wife something for our anniversary, Valentine's Day, and her birthday because they all occur in the month of February.

Spiral out: Tool and the Fibonacci Sequence

My brother forwarded me a link about Tool's use of the Fibonacci Sequence in the title track of the Laterlus album from a few years back. Having been a fan of theirs for a long time, at least 15 years, it did not surprise me that they use this sort of numerological sequence in their music. Check it out.

Spiral out, keep going...

Im-Perfect Season

The Perfect NFL Season lies somewhere out there in the mythical ether. A place where only the memories of the 1972 Miami Dolphins team reside. Having been born a year after that magical run, I have no point of reference in which to compare that team's season with any I have seen in my lifetime. There have been a couple close calls, namely the 1986 Chicago Bears, and most recently, the New England Patriots team that went into last Sunday's Super Bowl LXII 18-0.

Perhaps we'll see a perfect season in our lifetime. It could even be New England who'll do it next year. They've got the best chance to do it, as long as they avoid all bad karmic situations such as this season's Spygate incident. I swear, as bad karma goes, that was as bad as it could get. And I for one am glad that they didn't win the Super Bowl and go 19-0. This team had no business stooping down to that level and cheat lke they did. I've liked the Pats in the past and how they've won championships with a bunch of no-name players, but after having been caught breaking some NFL Rules, I've lost respect for them.

And in no way am I discounting the play of the New York Giants. Are you kidding? I'm a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, but I appreciate how the Giants played Sunday and my hoarse voice postgame was indicative of how much cheering I did for New York. That was some of the best defense play I have ever seen. I think that Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan were as worthy to receive the game's MVP honors as Eli Manning. Though that sack escape and pass to David Tyree on the game winning drive was great enough for him to win all in itself. Speaking of which, who's seen a better play in Super Bowl history?

Yes, I am sorry that history was not made last Sunday evening, because that's one of a plethora of reasons why I watch sports, but the team which wanted it more won and that's what it's all about in the end.