Dance: BTS - Permission to Dance

Choreography: BTS

via BANGTANTV

The Rolling Stones Concert, ATX

When I was 18 years old, my dad took me to my first Stones' concert in San Antonio, The VooDoo Lounge Tour. We woke up early that day and started our drive to San Antonio from the valley (Rio Grande Valley).  The concert was at the Alamodome, which had just opened the year before. The opening act was Bryan Adams. 

In 2006, I took my dad to the Stones' concert in Austin, A Bigger Bang Tour. We had arrived early to Zilker Park, because I wanted to grab a good seat on the lawn. As we were about to sit on the grass, we were approached by an event person. He asked how many were in our party. I replied it was just my dad and I. He handed us two tickets and directed us to the bleachers at the side of the stage. Lawn tickets turned out to be the best seats. My dad loved the show.

This past Saturday, I took my 17 year old daughter to the No Filter Tour at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). We left home early expecting the unexpected -- it was my first time at COTA and I wanted to make sure to have plenty of time to arrive, park, and find a spot on the lawn. Good thing I did.

COTA is a large complex with many parking lots. Ours happened to be at the very end, LOT R. We parked, walked to the complex, and found the Bronze area -- a hilltop overlooking the stage. We laid our blankets on the ground and waiting for the show to begin. 

Crazy things happen in the cheap seats, which isn't included in the video. 

I was offered pot. I was also offered popcorn. 

The drunk girl behind me almost fell on me. Same girl spilled trash on a group sitting behind her. Same girl stepped on my foot at one point. She then decided to squat and pee next to me. 

The guy friend the drunk girl came with was dry humping her. How do I know? I was within earshot of him talking to her dirty asking if she feels his hard penis. The girl who offered me popcorn, started dancing with the two. I'm thinking the guy got lucky after the show.

During the concert, a girl walked passed me with about six feet of toilet paper hanging from the back of her jeans. She must have traveled a long with with that since the closest port-a-potty was down the hill. 

I had a conversation at the end of the evening at the port-a-potty with a young lady. She said that she would rather get UTI than use a port-a-potty. I countered and said that the ride may be long getting out of COTA. She gave in and went into the blue closet. When she emerged out, she was clearly disgusted with the experience. 

Dance: Renuka Panwar, MJ - 52 Gaj Ka Daman

Sakshi Gupta Choreography / Unique Dance Crew

 

via Sakshi The Dancing Soul

Francis Danby

Art Appreciation

Known for his imaginative style, Francis Danby was born in Ireland on November 16, 1793.

Danby began painting landscapes at a young age. In his twenties, he ended up in Bristol, joining an informal group of artists known as the Bristol School. This group influenced and encouraged Danby in later art pieces to be more imaginative.

 

View of the Avon Gorge (1822)

The Enchanted Island

 

A Tale About Alex Jones

Pardon the Interruption

When I was in my 20s, I worked for a House Committee in Texas as the clerk. My responsibility was to take care of the bills filed with the committee, set hearings, manage testimony, and the minutes. 

My office was located in the "dungeon" of the Capitol building. Some knew where the offices were located. A few knew the importance of committee offices. 

Alex Jones knew the importance of the offices in the dungeon. 

My old boss, the chair of the committee, had a bill that dealt with some issue that caught Alex's attention. I don't recall the issue, but it may have been either DNA testing or something to do with records. But during that legislative session, Alex Jones was in my office.

At the time, Alex was a local personality best known for his public access cable TV show.  He grew in popularity in Austin to the point he was voted "Best Austin Talk Radio Host." 

His popularity grew trifold when he began promoting the conspiracy theory that the George W. Bush administration was behind the 9/11 attacks. 

I met him in the beginning of 2001, before 9/11.

When he would stop by, Alex was super nice. He had charisma and I was interested in what he had to say. I listened to a lot of his theories and questions. And I found myself asking the same thing. He made valid points. 

One night I went home and told my girlfriend (ex-wife) about a guy that has been coming around the office and has got me thinking about things. I shared one of the conspiracies that had got me thinking on how black helicopters are flying over certain areas. She stopped me from continuing and replied, "Wait. Alex Jones? You know I broke up with my ex-boyfriend because he was addicted to Alex Jones."

Needless to say, I kept my distance from Alex. 

Before Alex became Alex Jones, he was a one-man show. He carried with him a video camera. He would interview behind a video camera. He would set up a video camera and then record himself provide testimony. 

He would ask permission to set up his camera. It started with him setting up his camera in the back of the committee hearing room, and then it moved to the front corner. He did ask to place his camera on the landing of the dais, but I said no as directed by the chair of the committee. But that didn't stop Alex from placing the camera on the landing focusing on the committee members sitting behind the dais. 

When did Alex Jones begin transforming into the Alex Jones a good percentage of Americans despise? Does he really honestly believe the shit he says? Why does he do this? These are things I think about every time I see a headline with him name on it. 

Recently, the headline that caught my attention read, "Connecticut judge orders Infowars' Alex Jones to pay damages to families of Sandy Hook shooting victims in defamation lawsuits."

Sixteen families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims filed a defamation suit against Jones for spreading false claims.

Senior Night

It was the first time, in a very long time, that we walked along together happy.

About seven years ago, my ex-wife and I decided to call it quits, separated, and then divorced. Amicable, I guess. It had to be. We weren't happy. It showed.

But we weren't happy. We, my ex, our child and I, were happy. He was the only thing that kept the family intact. And it pained me so much when that glue lost it's adhesiveness. 

We began to work on shared time. We hungered to do as much as we could with our child.

She remarried and is happy. In a way, the new guy was the adhesive she long for to continue that experience she shared with her child. I don't blame her. 

My route took a different turn. I dated. And dated. And dated some more. I have fell head over heals a few times. I had my heart broken. I broke many hearts too. I lived my life.

At times I feel guilt. I could have saved all that money and wasted time and spent it with my kid. I could have been there. Why did I have such a grudge? Why did I feel jealousy towards my ex and her new life? 

It's envy. It's guilt. It's a desire to rewind history and live it right, if it were ever possible.

But this life. We learn from it. We forget and move to the next. 

And I think that's where I am at at this point in life. 

My kid is graduating this May. She has had a rough time -- growing pains -- with adolescence. Sophomore year she got into drugs. She experimented with a whole lot of them. She failed most of her classes. Then COVID hit. She fell further behind. 

Last January, she came out as being a transgender girl. This was a surprise to both her mom and I but we have grown to accept it and support her. 

She went through an awakening. She stopped doing drugs. And as THC has gradually been released from her body, she is more focused and willing to accomplish her school work. 

As we walked together before a crowd onto the football field, I felt our smiles bigger than ever. We were happy. 

At that moment, I felt at peace. We raised our kid together through the great times, the tough ones, the heartache, and happy ones. We've come along way as a family, but we did it for one person and that's for our kid.