This entry first appeared in a blog project that my friends and I began a few weeks ago called The Compass. Go check out that blog for some other excellent entries.In the summer of 2009, I began a songwriting project called "Request-A-Song." For one dollar, people could submit lyrics and ideas for songs and I would create a piece of music for them ( Read more... )

Recently, I graduated from a program called City Year. It's a non-profit organization devoted to stopping the dropout crisis. I was chosen by my fellow corps members to receive the Spirit of City Year Award, which is a tremendous honor. As the recipient of this award, I was able to give a speech at the graduation ceremony. This is that speech.Good ( Read more... )

There are few things as fundamental to the American experience as the desire to move. We are a nation of travelers seeking new worlds. From the conquest of people in the first three hundred years of European settlement or immigrants searching for a better life in a more familiar world already formed, the United States has grown because of our ( Read more... )

I started off 2009 at home with my family and Jill, determined to have a better year than 2008. Not that 2008 was a bad year -- it just wasn't what I wanted my year to be like. I had dealt with nonsense in the form of a sociology professor madman and the loss of two of my best friends to the real world. With a desire to have an improved twelve ( Read more... )

A few years ago, there was a family that lived across the street. Such things happen in neighborhoods, with houses meant for human occupation arranged in orderly rows along avenues of transportation. The pleasant outcome of sensible city planning is that families are able to befriend others, which is what occurred with the Rileys and the Smiths. ( Read more... )

I've been a fan of The Daily Show since the Craig Kilborn days, back when I was much too young to really understand the world around me. In its early days, the format of the show was much different from the insightful critique of the modern world that Jon Stewart provides. Kilborn's version was much more lighthearted. For example, the interview ( Read more... )

Remember the falls of your childhood? Returning to school, one of your first assignments was to write a few paragraphs on what you did over your summer vacation. I haven't written one since I was a sophomore in high school, but I'm going to try my hand at it again. I think it's necessary that I do this because the beginning of the summer was not ( Read more... )

A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I went to Chicago for a few days to see an exhibit on Harry Potter at the Museum of Science and Industry. It was our first time vacation together and I learned quite a few things on the trip. I've decided to present them to you in the style similar to those "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in..." posters. Of ( Read more... )

Another song that I wrote. This idea for this one came in 2003 on, as I sing in the song, the floor. Someone once told me it's the only good song I'll ever write. I disagree, but I am proud of how much some people like it. You can listen to it on Soundclick.com and become my fan on Facebook. Look for a longer entry next week.Life could be better ( Read more... )

The relationship between Michael Scott and Pam Beesly is a strange one. One would expect that Michael, as Pam's boss, would maintain a professional work environment through his interactions with the receptionist. But Dunder-Mifflin Scranton is not a professional work environment. Consistently, Michael shows his attraction to Pam openly -- referring ( Read more... )