Sit back and let your mind get blown by the genius of this man.

December 18 – Try What do you want to try next year? Is there something you wanted to try in 2010? What happened when you did / didn’t go for?

In 2011, I want to try to do a lot of things, most of them pretty small, but important steps to being a better person.

I want to try to be a more consistent blogger. I’ve been doing a pretty good job so far, but I want to get better. Produce ever-better content, make this place something people want to read.

I want to try to be a better husband. To be a little more empathetic. A little more helpful. It’s hard. And I know I’ve got a lot of room for improvement here.

I want to try to cut back on spending. To save more money so we can achieve our goals sooner.

I want to try to get back in school. To start a graduate degree. To pursue the dream of a life in academia.

This past year was not a year or trial and error. It was a year of survival. Of regrouping. Of positioning ourselves for a better future. It’s time to start pursuing that future.

“Moment. Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors). (Author: Ali Edwards)”

While on vacation at Disney World in Florida, the wife and I decided to go see the Cirque Du Soleil show. We walked in, paid $97 for two bottles of water, and took our seats. The show began, a grand parade of chiseled bodies and extremely limber people, and it was magical. The music, the acrobatics, diabolo girls. It was absolutely incredible.

But then something else happened. As we walked out of the LaNouba theater into the busy Downtown Disney, we noticed the House of Blues had its ticket counter open. We made our way over, to see who was playing. It was only one of my favorite bands ever. The Flaming Lips.

We worked our way into the crowded room, already bumping shoulders with the other concert-goers, as we got as close to the stage as we could. The excitement in the room was palpable. People were all chatting, laughing, the din in the room was loud before anything even began.

As the opening act came out, the crowd only got louder, singing and swaying along with the sound, everyone pressing in on each other, always trying to be a little closer to the action. Every so often, the guys from Flaming Lips would show up on the wings of the stage, causing the crowed to erupt in cheers. The lights were bright, the crowd was loud and hot. The opening act finished, and the roadies came out to begin setting up the stage for The Flaming Lips.

Tension continued to mount, and more people kept streaming through the nearly bursting door. Pressing closer, hotter and hotter, louder and louder. It took probably 35 minutes for the crew to set the stage, but it felt like an eternity. I couldn’t wait. I had always heard about how amazing their shows were, but this would be my first experience at one of them. The whole experience was just a little surreal. I mean, how do you top Cirque du Soleil? But Cirque AND TFL in one night? And all on my birthday? It was incredible, to say the least.

The show began with Wayne Coyne in that giant bubble, rolling out over the crowd, music blaring and strobe lights flashing. He made his way back over to the stage, and off they went, just completely rocking the house for the next 2 hours. I have never been to a concert at which the crowd was so incredibly into the show. Costumes, and interaction, and screaming so loud I thought my ear drums were going to burst.

By the end of the night, I was tired, sweaty, and I wasn’t able to speak. But I was on top of the world. I just finished one of the most awesome nights of my life, and there was nothing that could bring me down.

In my overactive brain, I rarely find myself lost in the moment. But this night, I was able to let go. Let the music and the emotion of the crowd just wash over me, and I was there. I was alive. I was in the moment, and I was the moment. What an incredible feeling.

• 30 Rock
• Simon and Garfunkle
• Naruto
• Toaster Strudels
• My iPhone (Does this count? I think it’s more of an addiction)
• SpaghettiOs
• Chocolate milk
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer
• Tacos
• Deal-A-Day Websites

And that’s pretty much it. What are your current obsessions?

1. Bob Dylan

Way back when I was but a budding teenager, my youth pastor at the time introduced me to the music of Bob Dylan. It was whiny and nasally and weird and I hated it. But he kept playing it, much to our chagrin. In particular, he kept playing “Highway 61 Revisited.” The lyrics were bizarre, but after listening to the song 15 times in a row, it began to grow on me. I had to have more! So I started listening, and as I grew older, the songs became that much more amazing. The lyricism of Dylan is just incredible. And when you think about how much he wrote, the mind just boggles.

2. The Green Lantern

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the Green Lantern. A superhero limited only by willpower and imagination? That’s amazing. It’s who I want to be. And while it’s a bit melodramatic, his mantra inspires me every time I see it.

“In brightest day, in blackest night, No evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evil’s might, Beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!”

3. Jon Stewart

This one is probably the greatest outlier in the series. I really like Jon Stewart, and I think he has a more grounded view of our country and politics than most of the pundits on TV. I would like to think that he gives ideas and issues a fair cop, but I also understand that he has a television show to run. But, all the same, I would rather listen to his views.

4. Peter Griffin

Don’t judge me. You know you have an idiot manchild hiding somewhere in your brain, too. He’s inappropriate, self-centered, and idiotic. But he’s a lot of fun to watch. He’s the monologue that lets you laugh at the world, because if you can’t laugh, then it all gets overbearing.

5. Walt Whitman

Walt Whitman wrote a lot of poetry. Most of it not any good (in my estimation). He also was a man of great self-conviction. He was strong, proud. He knew who he was, and he wasn’t afraid of anyone telling him otherwise. One of my favorite quotes comes from his “Song of Myself.”

Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)

6. Alton Brown

This man is like some sort of crazy food wizard. He knows all kinds of crazy food lore. He seems to know what every ingredient is, and how those ingredients can go together, no matter what culture the food is coming from. What’s more, he explains all that vast knowledge to the laity like us, and he does so while making it fun and interesting. He’s goofy and that’s just fine, because in the end, he gets results. Forget the Iron Chefs. I want to be a chef like him some day.

I was browsing the hundreds of TotalFark links, and I saw this one leading over to Hipsterpad. The article is all about talented musicians on the internets, and one of the videos there really caught my attention.

The band is The Wrong Trousers, and this video is them performing “Video Killed the Radio Star,” originally by Buggles, on a bass, harp, and mandolin. By the looks of them, they’re all quite young, but they’re rather talented. Without further ado, here’s the video:

Their style of music might not be quite your cup of tea, but I got a kick out of it. I did a quick Google of their name to see if I could find anything else by them, and I was dismayed to find out they had a Myspace page. For those of you who know me at all, I hate Myspace. In fact, I pride myself on having only been to two Myspace pages ever. Well, two before tonight. I was curious enough to check them out.

Their Myspace page is what I always imagined Myspace ought to be, before it was–choose your own meaning adventure–perverted by the masses. They’ve got an album coming out in December, and they have three singles available to listen to. Whether you’re into Myspace or not (and trust me, I’m not usually), I’d go ahead and urge you to check them out. Who knows? You might actually like it. I know I do.