In Praise of Leftovers

This week marks one of the greatest American holidays: Thanksgiving. It's great because it signifies thanks in a truly American way. We're thankful for everything because of all the awesome food we have and the awesome sport we have in football.

One of the best aspects of Thanksgiving is that our mega-glutton feast isn't limited to one day. No sir!!! Our traditional feast leads to days on end of overeating.

This year marks the first time ever that I will be working the day after Thanksgiving. While many Americans get up early to stand in shopping lines for hours on end, I get to wake up early to read Army architectural specifications for hours on end. With the leftover meats, I am planning on desiging and building the biggest, baddest turkey sandwich ever made.

Artist Rendering of Aaron's gigantic sandwich

I'm very fond of my leftovers -- food or otherwise. I was cruising Target last weekend with my wife and son (don' laugh, it's good times all around). Whilst strolling through the media section, my wife spotted a new Killers album called Sawdust. It's new in that it was recently released, but not so new. It's full of b-sides and previously unreleased tracks -- a "leftovers" album. While it's not quite my awesome turkey sandwich, it's still pretty good. If you like the Killers, you'll probably like this album. Half of it sounds like Hot Fuss, the other half sounds like Sam's Town.

How's that free album thing going, Radiohead?

Jedboy has already waxed eloquently on this topic, as he is wont to do. Also, as I am wont to do, I'd like to reply to Jed's Radiohead thoughts in typical blogger fashion -- no research, mildly funny, and based purely on what I think is right.

Jed grew up listening Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and early "rock and roll." (I use quotes because I use the term rock and roll loosely with that era of rock. It rocked for that era, but that also was spoon fed crap like Paul Anka, the Kingston Trio, and alcoholic crooners. That rock was relatively rocking, but not historically rocking.) I grew up listening to actual rock and roll, like Bruce Springsteen, Hendrix, Zeppelin, AC/DC, and Van Halen. I also grafted in some outlaw country like Johnny Cash and Hank Williams, Jr.

Want proof of how hard Hank Williams Jr. rocks? Check this out. Hank Williams basically calls out country music for not allowing him to A) drink whiskey, B) get loud, and C) possibly commit crimes. Over the weekend, I went to Wal Mart and paid $7.53 for Hank Jr's greatest hits. (Somehow, I thought Wal Mart would have it.)

I got out the liner notes, looked through the various photos of Hank -- Hank with beard smiling, Hank with beard smirking, Hank wearing sunglasses wiping gravy off beard -- like a fanboy. I was genuinely excited for my purchase.

Hank Williams Jr. 57,000 Google Images, and not one without sunglasses and beard.

Why was I excited about my purchase? The music is good. How good? About $7.53 good. One of the great things about America and capitalism is the willingness of the consumer to pay for something that is good.

My great-grandparents bought sheet music to play the legendary hits of W.W. Phelps. My grandparents bought whatever those old people bought. My dad bought 8-tracks, records, and now purchases CD's. The kids these days, I am told, use iTune's to download music.

The medium for music will change. What will not change is the willingness of Americans to reward that which we find good with our $$$$$. We have placed value on work exchange. Work exchange means I go to work and get paid, you go to work and get paid, Hank Williams Jr. combs his beard, goes to work, and gets paid. We create products of value, whatever that product is, and, in turn, expect an exchange to occur. In America, we pay for things because our money is the easiest form of showing approval for products.

So, Radiohead may toss out a "free" album. However, didn't Radiohead play some of the "In Rainbows" tracks at some of there live concerts? Concerts that people had been paying for?

Side Point -- From Russia With Loathing

In his most recent post, Jedboy danced on the subject of Andrei Kirilenko.

Nice going, Jedboy. Your skirting around the subject has worked me into a lathery foam which I must now rid myself through html composition. Reader, prepare thyself as if you were in the splash zone at Sea World -- this foam is a spewing.

Andrei Kirlenko enjoys the traditional Euro-League Championship Trophy -- a decent supper and free passage through the Iron Curtain.

Kirilenko will be hard to trade -- not because of his, as Jedboy calls it, "whining." He's hard to trade because he's a maximum contract player on a team that doesn't need a maximum contract in return. The Jazz have two future max contract players in DeRon Williams and Carlos Boozer. The Jazz need parts to sustain and lift Williams and Boozer. Shawn Marion of Phoenix isn't going to do that because he's a key player in the Phoenix system.

Somebody like Ray Allen or Cory Maggette is what the Jazz need -- a proven money shooter at the small forward/shooting guard position. That is best attained through free agency, as a team doesn't have to worry about matching contracts and trade value. A team signs who it wants to sign.

Finally, let us not believe that Kirilenko is "whining" because he is a professional athlete. Don't hold athletes to a higher standard then you would yourself. For example, I'm not particularly fond of my current workplace, my co-workers, or my supervisor.

The difference is as a person in a common workplace I have the agency to move at-will. Professional athletes are literally property of their team. If you're an athlete, they own you. Whereas I can simply turn in a notice to quit and apply somewhere else, if Kirilenko wants a better NBA situation, he has to demand a trade.

Consider the Name of Your Child

In one of the chapters of the bestselling book Freakonomics, economist Steven Levitt examines the connection between a child's name and economic well-being. Does naming your child serve as a predictor of your child's future economic success?

Yes and no, according to Levitt. Not that the name of the child itself predestines your child to an exact fate, but that the name stands as a reflection of the parents who name the child. As Levitt suggests, the name doesn't really matter, but the parents economic standing and economic level are the main factors. It just also happens to be that certain names, like Alexandria and Samuel turn out to be names for people of higher incomes, while children who are named after firearms or unclean adjectives, like Ruger or Rusty, turn out to be names for people of lower incomes.

Which leads me to implore all of you readers to STRONGLY consider the name you will give your children. For example, don't name your child Orenthal:

Or Kal-el (this means you, Nicholas Cage).

Let's imagine that I have a certain pair friends who are expectant parents, with a boy child still in utero. Let's imagine they have selected a name. Let's imagine that name is .....

Pyke.

Perhaps these friends have combined their love of middle-aged European pole weapons with Old English spelling. However, I'm more apt to think that my friends don't know what a pike is, nor do they know how to properly spell it.

I don't like to impose to many rules upon expectant parents. Each child is different. But, for the sake of your child, please, consider the name.

A rule of thumb -- if you had to see a doctor, and that doctor happened to be, say, a urologist or an obstetrician, and that doctor happened to be named a name that you wouldn't trust examining the parts that urologists or obstetricians examine, don't name your child that name. For example, I would never, ever let a guy named Pyke check my business.

I would, however, expect him to sell me western themed sporting goods or rotate my tires.

If your future child's name sounds like it should stitched onto a gas station uniform, then your child will work in a gas station. If your child's name sounds like a respectable, classy name that could be put up on a nice plaque or desk display, then, congratulations, your child will one day be a successful middle-manager for a Fortune 500 company.

Welcome to My Place

And so it begins .....

Welcome to my blog. I hope that you find it to be like a charming bungalow, nestled high up in the snowy mountain peaks.

I would like to invite you in to my place, so to speak. Why, sit down right here, next to the fireplace.

Why yes, I did get that chair from RC Willey. How did you know? Oh, it reeks of classiness? That's why I bought it. Doesn't it just exclaim "I'm better than you."

Oh, this old rag I'm wearing? It's called a "Member's Only Jacket."
I was thinking of wearing it with an ascot. Wouldn't it be fun, just sitting here by my fire, in my parlor, wearing my awesome jacket with an ascot, discoursing about ideas, using the air as a canvas to be painted with the artistry of our words ......


I digress. Welcome to my blog.