the_hhp_blogfest_experience

Rebuttle: Boot Straps and Lawyers

2007-03-21T06:19:00.000-07:00

This blog was created with the intent to refute, affirm, or enlighten the author of Boot Straps and Lawyers. I will refrain from anonomously belittling him on his blog, as that is somewhat distasteful, or acting like one of his groupies who believe a comment is always necessary and should be longer than a novel.

1L's at Firm Receptions - You don't wanna be Farva on Super Troopers

Ethiopian Resturants - Last time I checked China had horrible human rights violations and N. Korea is famine stricken; we've been eating Chinese and Korean food for a long time. Why take Ethiopia's side? We eat out Outback, have the bloomin onion, but that food is not indigenous to Australia, so why does it matter if the Ethiopian restaurant you refer to isn't selling only water and crackers?

Valentines Day - We should revert to the old days of the Roman empire. "As early as the fourth century B.C., the Romans engaged in an annual young man's rite to passage to the God Lupercus. The names of the teenage women were placed in a box and drawn at random by adolescent men; thus, a man was assigned a woman companion for the duration of the year, after which another lottery was staged." Or I can be Emporar Claudius II and propose an edict forbidding marriage because "married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus will not make good soldiers." I interpret soldiers in the 21st century as meaning a single man living his life.

I spent my last two Valentines Days snowboarding in Steamboat and at the Silk Stocking...

The Double Life

2006-12-26T08:48:00.000-08:00

Written by: Don Blanding
Musical chord progression modified from: "Indigo Mood"
Composed by: HHP3
Fingerpicking...

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How very simple life would be G
If there were only two of me D/F#
A Restless me to drift and roam Em
A Quiet me to stay at home. G/D
A Searching one to find his fill C
Of varied skies and new found thrill G/B
While sane and homely things are done Am7
By the domestic Other One. D

But that's just where the trouble lies; G/D
There's a restless me that cries B7/D#
For chancy risks and changing scene, Em
For arctic blue and tropic green, G/F
For deserts with their mystic spell, C
For lusty fun and raisin' hell. A/C#

But shackeled to that Restless me
My other self D rebeliousely Eb
Resists the frantic urge to move. Em
It seeks the old familiar groove G/F
That habits make. It finds content C

With hearth and home dear imprisonment, G/B
With candlelight and well loved books Am7
And treasured loot in dusty nooks, D
With puttering and garden things G
And dreaming while a cricket sings D/F#
All the while the Restless One Em
Insists on more exciting fun G/D
It wants to go with every tide, C
No matter where... just for the ride. G/B
Like yawling cats the two selves brawl Am7
'Till I have no peace at all D

One eye looks to the forward track, G/D
The other eye looks sadly back, B7/D#
I'm getting wall-eyed from the strain, Em
(It's tough to have an idol brain) G/F
But One says "stay" and One says "go" C
And One says "yes" and One says "no," A/C#
And One self wants a home and wife
And One self craves D the drifters life. Eb

The Restless fellow always wins Em
I wish my folks had made me twins. G/D
C
D (strum)

I Thought It Was My Turn

2006-10-01T16:53:00.000-07:00

Written and composed by: HHP3

"This song is dedicated to that litte voice inside of everyone that knows better. May it be heard loudest by those tying themselves down right now. "

Am_________G______C
I thought it was my turn
Am__________G_______C
First college a job then her
F________________G
Love I thought I’d found
C__________G_____Am
As far as I could discern
F_____________G
Now it seems all a joke
C_________G____Am
My life is being choked

That’s why I'm out here in the cold
Wishin’ I’d been bold
Gone the other way
I should've told her no
Instead she’s here to stay
I’ll never have it my way

That’s why I'm out here walkin’ around
Listenin’ to those sound
Of acorns in the trees
Their fallin' to the ground
It's a beat all their own
Something I’ve hardly known

That’s why I'm going to drink some beer
Get my ass in gear
I’ll be soaked all through
It’s tried and it’s true
It’s the only way to go
Tryin' to enjoy this show

So I'll be home by 5:00
From now until I die
Honey I’m home
We’re playin’ house all day
I thought it was what you do
Hell I’m only twenty-two

...Hell I'm only twenty-two?!

That’s why I'm calling a good friend
Tellin’ him where I’ve been
Come pick me up
Let’s get on down the road
Come pick me up
I’ll be out in 10 - C G Am
Yah, I’ll be out in 10 - Am G C

My 2 week 3,000 mile sabbatical

2006-06-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

The impending first day of work and every day thereafter stands before me as a very cold and merciless monument. One which has forced me to stare into its harsh face of reality. I have endeavoured over the years and made personal sacrifices to stand where I am right now, at the brink of a career, and it is time to embark upon this new adventure. Time to throw myself at the institution of the full-time job and while demanding excellence refuse to allow the job to dictate those stereotypes implied. The status quo must be challenged the monument must be torn down... my way. To prepare I had to clear my head of the noises and nonsense that would deter me from accomplishing this. I had to take a 2 week 3,000 mile sabbatical that took me from Hempstead TX to Farmington NM, Durango CO, Telluride CO, Fort Collins CO, Cheyenne WY, and back again.

In Farmington and Durango there was fly fishing on the San Juan, where there is still a cool river breeze that blows as the sun sets behind the hills, kayaking on the lower animas, with the challenges of rapids and the wet escape, camping in the slopes of purgatory, where kayaking down the blue runs presents the challenges of rocks and trees, mountain biking, where there is the ever present and actualized fear and pain of falling off the side of the mountain, and playing guitar for hours on the roof with a Budweiser on hand and deer walking by. I would like to thank Bart for teaching me everything he knows of kayaking and being an intoxicated canvass for our crude permanent marker art, Dave for being our mountain bike expert, Ben for listening to me play guitar on the roof, Nance for being the token aggie, and all four of them for letting me crash on their couch, ohh and the Loose Masseuse simply because, and all the drunken interns who where throwing up and jumping off the house into bushes.

In Telluride there was the highly acclaimed and world renowned Telluride Bluegrass Festival where I was a volunteer. I learned to wash my clothes in the river, bathe only once during a week, be half naked and half dirty, dance like a hippie, party in the mountains, everything about organic food (ie hydrogenated vegetable oil) and avalanche theory, to be looked at in a suspicious way, to watch and be part of nature, play guitar in front of people I don't know, where to find the worlds best burrito, partying in the Sheridan Opera House with Yonder Mountain String Band is best described as being part of a circus of people, and to become friends with people I would not normally be friends with. I would like to thank everyone who made this the best learning experience in addition to the great music. This includes my granola supervisors Fonda and Kathlyn, my Chicago pals Mike and Salina who could dance, party, and share, Pete and Julie from Fort Collins for playing guitar with me, sharing thoughts, and being old but young at heart, Becky and Rachelle the pride and joy of the Leadville education system who could both party, share, and enjoy life, 'Lisa and Lindsey the carneys from Olympia for making me a bracelet and making their school pay part of their groups cost if they made a documentary film, Yonni for just being inspirational, and the bands for being sweet ass.

In Fort Collins and Cheyenne I found friends and rodeo. Memories include the radio station 103.5 that played 60's and 70's during the day and sweet blues at night, seeing Pam again and her roommates Lex, Beth, Emily, and another visitor Tarryn. Going out on the town and drinking Skinny Dip, watching some guy with dreads throw up through the table, and happy hour from 10-12 pm. Hiking to a waterfall that can best be described as watertrickle, drinking beer at the New Belgium brewery and sending postcards, eating at Avogadro's Number and drinking margaritas all night down the street. Visiting the Grand Daddy of 'em All at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Rodeo museum, watching highlights of the rodeo over the years (includes Lane Frost footage of his last ride when he got gored), the special on Chris Ledoux and his cans of Copenhagen, seeing buffalo roam on the plains, and getting smashed on Tequila, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Rum after a little flip cup. My favorite memory was all the funny, stupid, controversial, serious, and personal conversations I had before I went to bed.

Now that I have cleared my head of the noises and nonsense it is time to get one last dose of it... the Comal river trip. Let it ride... shoot the shoots naked!

Telluride Town

2006-05-26T13:48:00.000-07:00

Written and Composed by: HHP3
Chords: G Em D Am Em
Fingerpicking...

"This song is dedicated to my fellow festivarian Pete who picked and grinned with me at Telecam field in Telluride on that first night of many..."

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(Rhythm no words 1X)

I'm sittin' n' talkin'
Just pickin' n' grinnin'
I'll tell ya'll somethin'
If ya sit up and listen

I'm up from Texas
Left the heat behind
All the light beer
And that west Texas sky

But here in Colorado
Wher'em mountains are still white
let's light up a joint
And toast the sunlight

(Rhythm no words 1X)

Well they're better things
To talk about
Than where I'm from
Or what I'm about

There's a world out there
And closer than it seems
So let's pack our bags
And go chase our dreams

(Rhythm no words 1X)

I'm sittin' n' talkin'
Just pickin' n' grinnin'
I'll tell ya'll somethin'
If ya sit up and listen

There's a bluegrass festival
They're burnin' it down
So let's raise all hell
It's a Telluride Town

Pash with your neighbor
Go sleep in her tent
If the good die young
Then we're livin' forever

(Rhythm no words 1X)

The music is grass
The star is a Bush
This field our home
It's a Telecam hmmm

(Rhythm no words 1X)

What brings us together
Ain't diplomacy
See it's (A capella)
Free people like you and (Strum D 1X)
Free people like me (Strum Am 1X)

Tid Bits

2005-12-28T13:06:00.000-08:00

To just be alive is no way to live
So go on and get livin'
And don't get dead, before you die

Some things in life must be done because they are the right thing to do, thou some things in life must be done just to say you did them...

Regardless if our glasses are half-full or half -empty, they can always stand to be topped off... BARTENDER!

Halloween Question

2005-10-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

The following is a true story... and one that has left me perplexed.

I found myself driving east down the collegiate streets of Texas A&M University. Out of the corner of my eye I catch the glimpse of movement... a black cat running at a furious pace to cross in front of me. Trying to avoid hitting the black cat I swerved to the right only in a futile attempt. CRUNCH I hit the cat. A moment of sickness and fear grip my body. I slow down and look back. I don't see anything... oohh is it stuck under my car? Later I would look underneath and see nothing. I continue with my slow pace and get into the left lane because there is a cop in the right lane looking for people running a stop sign. I begin thinking about the result of the encounter and my luck... especially now that it is near Halloween! What kind of luck do I have?

A) Regular bad luck because the black cat was trying to pass in front
B) Not bad luck because the black cat tried to run in front of me and I ran it's ass over
C) Regular bad luck because he was not dead in the road and therefore he got by and is ALIVE
D) Double bad luck because I killed a black cat
E) Impending death or toad life because I killed a witches black cat and she has cursed me
F) Damn the police... it's all their fault
E) Nothing, when headed east no bad luck will cross your path
G) The cat is a ghost and it was only my mind that made me hear the CRUNCH

Please reply to this and give my your answer

Social Interaction Today

2005-10-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

I am perplexed at the inability, and in some cases fear, of the average individual to interact with other human beings in simple day-to-day contact.

Walking around today one can see our generation attempting to isolate themselves from others with cell phones, earphone pieces, music headphones, and other devices. Striking up a conversation with somebody you don't know is not only unordinary but approaching a social taboo. What to expect from the future? Social interaction will exist only in personal spheres of interest with personalized clubs, activities, web groups, online dating services, and other groupings. We will totally screen out those who we assume we don't want to meet and leave those we have catagorized as acceptable.

So what is the problem? The problem is personal interest inbreeding! We will eradicate any avenue of mental and physical diversification and limit our own understanding of life and everything that that encompasses. So stop being afraid of people you don't know. Don't shy away from somebody different. Don't limit your growth or experiences that you might gain from interacting with somebody... anybody. Take off your electronic armor. Look at somebody that would not fit into your" drop-down" list and say hello... you don't know where it might go.

Your World

2005-07-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

I prefer the path of a disoriented compass than the inevitability of your straight line between A and B. For where I start and where I end will be the same, but my path for my sake I shall amend. The space between is where I’ll be, but don’t look for me for it’ll be too far for your eyes to see. I’m not too arrogant to proclaim that I’ll end up somewhere with high acclaim. For I concede I’ll surely be dead, just as dead as you’ll be.

To see the forests and deserts and oh how can it be, to allow yourself back into complacency? How can it be that a man from propriety allows such idioticy? To not feed the seed inside of him but accept what is laid out in front of him. Even the youngest of men can see this path to folly. So I’ll gab my compass and accept where it might take me. From Azerbaijan to Bali, the mountains, and the seas.

"The Drifters" And My Thoughts

2005-07-26T12:43:00.000-07:00

May this book be read for entertainment and yet remembered for its insight. To dismiss the parallels found in today’s world would be tragic for it in of itself bridges two distinctly different generations. Though today's youth exists in an entirely different social and cultural ambiance than our parents and our parents parents, the individual lessons and struggels learned by the people through each generations different battles are applicable throughout all ages. And let it be remembered that in subscribing to an ideal of order without personal conviction, the catalyst to unhappiness has been served. Only through a personal conviction established through a lifetime of experiences and a willingness of the spirit to grow, learn, and lead, might we find our own direction, our own order. May this book be read and may it be appreciated.

My Sheets

2005-07-22T06:10:00.000-07:00

And before I went to bed last night
I saw my sheets were in such a plight.
Strewn haphazardly all across my bed,
It certainly was a messy sight.

So for the first time this summer
I fixed them just so.
And for the first time this summer
To sleep I could not go.

Perhaps the need to keep them thus
Proved to much to handle.
Constrained I felt and knew that I must,
Thrash the sheets around in some tyranical fuss.

So as I go to bed tonight
I'll keep them just so.
And as I crawl into bed
To sleep I will surely go.

What do you do?

2005-07-13T08:06:00.000-07:00

In response to bootstrapsandlawyers conversation about his occupation and the discussion of thus with laypeople. It should be noted that as opposed to interacting with Houstonians in a bar, typically I interact with some tree lovin' people in some field, biking trail, or open air restaurant. This is a mock conversation with somebody I meet when propositioned with the question, what do you do?

Hippie: ya, ok, so what do you do?
Me: I'm a geologist

Hippie: cool
Me: Thanks

Then I find a way to quickly change the subject. It's worked the last 2 years. Oh ya, I'm a petroleum engineer

Fishing Anecdotes

2005-07-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

To not be prepared in every way to catch a trout means to not catch any at all... Though sometimes they aren't prepared to be caught anyway.

Tis' a far better afternoon to stand in the river and catch nothing than to sit at home and catch nothing