My latest adventure in filmaking

We had to give a gift to another lab in the Molecular Genetics and Microbiology Department. It so happened that the particular lab to which we were giving the gift had recently had a few members who were infected with laboratory bacteria. So, we decided to make a video demonstrating what NOT to do in the lab. The video features Travis, Fanglei and Joe from our lab and I was the editor and director. If not for their excellent contributions, this would not be nearly as enjoyable. Let me know what you think...email me: hoxjock@hotmail.com.
Cheers!

Meet My Nephew Augustus Myles Hathaway

He was born on November 28, 2007 at 7:06 pm. He entered the world at 7 lbs. 15.9 oz. and 20 3/4 inches.
Shaun and Christin are doing well and the baby is healthy and happy. Couldn't ask for more.

Cara and I meet Barack Obama.

Well, the word "meet" may be a little strong for our encounter with the next President of the United States, but regardless, we got to shake his hand and wish him luck. He seemed to like Cara. He gave her a big smile and, as he was leaving, he waved at her a second time. He's a charmer! Check out the video:

Friday Mornings at the Pentagon

I can only take the word of the author that this is a true story, but I hope that it is.

By JOSEPH L. GALLOWAY
McClatchy Newspapers

Over the last 12 months, 1,042 soldiers, Marines, sailors and Air Force
personnel have given their lives in the terrible duty that is war. Thousands
more have come home on stretchers, horribly wounded and facing months or
years in military hospitals.

This week, I'm turning my space over to a good friend and former roommate,
Army Lt Col. Robert Bateman, who recently completed a yearlong tour of duty
in Iraq and is now back at the Pentagon.

Here's Lt. Col. Bateman's account of a little-known ceremony that fills the
halls of the Army corridor of the Pentagon with cheers, applause and many
tears every Friday morning. It first appeared on May 17 on the Weblog of
media critic and pundit Eric Alterman at the Media Matters for America
Website.

It is 110 yards from the "E" ring to the "A" ring of the Pentagon. This
section of the Pentagon is newly renovated; the floors shine, the hallway is
broad, and the lighting is bright. At this instant the entire length of the
corridor is packed with officers, a few sergeants and some civilians, all
crammed tightly three and four deep against the walls. There are thousands
here.

This hallway, more than any other, is the `Army' hallway. The G3 offices
line one side, G2 the other, G8 is around the corner. All Army. Moderate
conversations flow in a low buzz. Friends who may not have seen each other
for a few weeks, or a few years, spot each other, cross the way and renew.

Everyone shifts to ensure an open path remains down the center. The air
conditioning system was not designed for this press of bodies in this area.
The temperature is rising already. Nobody cares. "10:36 hours: The clapping
starts at the E-Ring. That is the outermost of the five rings of the
Pentagon and it is closest to the entrance to the building. This clapping is
low, sustained, hearty. It is applause with a deep emotion behind it as it
moves forward in a wave down the length of the hallway.

A steady rolling wave of sound it is, moving at the pace of the soldier in
the wheelchair who marks the forward edge with his presence. He is the
first. He is missing the greater part of one leg, and some of his wounds are
still suppurating. By his age I expect that he is a private, or perhaps a
private first class.

Captains, majors, lieutenant colonels and colonels meet his gaze and
nod as they applaud, soldier to soldier. Three years ago when I described
one of these events, those lining the hallways were somewhat different. The
applause a little wilder, perhaps in private guilt for not having shared in
the burden .. yet.

Now almost everyone lining the hallway is, like the man in the wheel-chair,
also a combat veteran. This steadies the applause, but I think deepens the
sentiment. We have all been there now. The soldier's chair is pushed by, I
believe, a full colonel. "Behind him, and stretching the length from Rings E
to A, come more of his peers, each private, corporal, or sergeant assisted
as need be by a field grade officer.

11:00 hours: Twenty-four minutes of steady applause. My hands hurt, and I
laugh to myself at how stupid that sounds in my own head. My hands hurt.
Please! Shut up and clap. For twenty-four minutes, soldier after soldier has
come down this hallway - 20, 25, 30. Fifty-three legs come with them, and
perhaps only 52 hands or arms, but down this hall came 30 solid hearts..
They pass down this corridor of officers and applause, and then meet for a
private lunch, at which they are the guests of honor, hosted by the
generals. Some are wheeled along. Some insist upon getting out of their
chairs, to march as best they can with their chin held up, down this
hallway, through this most unique audience. Some are catching handshakes and
smiling like a politician at a Fourth of July parade. More than a couple of
them seem amazed and are smiling shyly.

There are families with them as well: the 18-year-old war-bride pushing her
19-year-old husband's wheelchair and not quite understanding why her husband
is so affected by this, the boy she grew up with, now a man, who had never
shed a tear is crying; the older immigrant Latino parents who have, perhaps
more than their wounded mid-20s son, an appreciation for the emotion given
on their son's behalf. No man in that hallway, walking or clapping, is
ashamed by the silent tears on more than a few cheeks. An Airborne Ranger
wipes his eyes only to better see. A couple of the officers in this crowd
have themselves been a part of this parade in the past.

These are our men, broken in body they may be, but they are our
brothers, and we welcome them home. This parade has gone on, every single
Friday, all year long, for more than four years.

Did you know that?

The media hasn't yet told the story. [and never will]"

Please watch this video and pass it on to your friends

Spooky!

Tonight, as I was walking to my car at the Park N Ride, I felt an ominous sense that I was being watched. It was very dark and as I passed from beneath the street lights, I was temporarily blinded until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I had no idea why I had this feeling of being watched until I looked up and noticed that something was staring at me from the bushes. Below is a picture that I snapped of the spooky parking lot stalker.

Jim Lehrer Speaks at UT Austin

Monday night, I went to a lecture by Jim Lehrer. Yep, that's Jim Lehrer from the PBS Broadcast: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. I expected to hear some interesting commentary on current events in politics, economics or the war. Unfortunately, the lecture was written for journalists. It was an effort to reassure journalists that journalism is not in eminent danger. I would argue the opposite. Unless the media changes their tactics from profit seeking to ethical presentation of the news, the media will be facing extinction. Citizen journalism is taking hold of America and offers a bonified threat to the Mass Media. If you doubt this, go to any of the media conglomerate websites and you will see CNN has iReport, MSNBC has FirstPerson and ABC News has iCaught. All of these are citizen journalist divisions of the large news corporations. Anyway, here's the first of 4 parts of Jim Lehrer's lecture.

My new diggs!

Recently, I decided that I needed a change. I wasn't having much luck at my old research bench, so I decided to move. After Junhua graduated, she left some prime lab real estate to be claimed. So, I asked Alan if I could move into some new diggs. He agreed and I am now the resident of a much needed upgraded bench. Check out the easy access to the Speed-vac and microcentrifuges, not to mention multiple heat blocks and a 55 degree waterbath. I even have generous space to setup my own personal electrophoresis bench. And, at least for now, I can put my computer on the bench next to me and I never have to leave to check my email. Not too shabby, if I must say so myself.

There's even a comfy place for the dogs to sleep while I work.

So Long, ESB

This is the Experimental Science Building. Rumor has it that it will soon be history. I thought I'd take a second to memorialize it. During my first year of graduate school, I taught in this building. I had my first grad school office here and took several classes in this building. I won't say that I'm gonna miss it, but when it's gone, a piece of my past will be gone, too.

This is the balcony from my first graduate school office.

Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!

This year Halloween fell right-smack-dab in the middle of the week...a highly inconvenient day to dress up and go to parties, so Cara and I decided to stay in, cook dinner and invite some friends over to watch scary movies. We weren't sure that anyone would be interested, but we had a really good turn out. We had friends from school, work and our neighbors. Cara cooked her delicious chili and everyone had seconds and thirds. We had hot apple cider and pumpkin pie, not to mention the desserts from our guests. One of my favorites was Dede's cake balls. After stuffing ourselves with all the good eats, we started the first movie, "Friday the 13th." Some couldn't make it through the movie and had to leave early, but a few brave souls stuck it out and watched the entire movie. It was a pretty cool night and we didn't even have to put on our costumes. Maybe this will become our Halloween tradition.

Joe's Halloween Party

Last night we attended our first Halloween party of the year. Joe and Bethany hosted the party at "the Playgirl Mansion." The costumes are always creative and often very funny. I wasn't too fond of the backwards James D. Watson, who speaks out of his a**, but I gave kudos for creativity. If you don't get the joke, don't expect me to explain it. Other costumes included Shawn from Shawn of the Dead, Little Bo Peep, Dude and The Stranger from the Big Lebowski, Hugh Hefner and Holly (the hosts), a Texas Hockey Player, John Lennon and Yoko, Lucy in the Skies, Two Butterflies and the Big Bad Wolf.
Cara and I dressed as Donald Trump and Miss USA aka Miss Guided. Here's a few pics from the party:

Happy Halloween!

I found this video on YouTube. It is footage of a ghost captured on security video in London, England. It will make you think twice about venturing out on Halloween Night.

Another great one!

Yesterday, we had another successful Gottlieb Lecture. Dr. Mario Capecchi, Winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, gave the 6th Paul Gottlieb Lecture. Dr. Capecchi was a wonderful guest. We organized a breakfast and lunch for students to meet with him during the day. He was a very good conversationalist. He told us some great stories about his past and he shared some insight into the research that he is currently doing at the University of Utah. Travis, Joe and I had particular interest in speaking to him because his research is extremely relevant to our own research. We got a few bits of information that will help us with our experiments, but so many people wanted to talk to him that we didn't want to monopolize his time. Fortunately, he welcomed us to email him. Last night, we had a potluck dinner and a party for him. We celebrated his recent Nobel Prize Award with a cake that had the Alfred Nobel Medal on it. At the end of the eventing, I gave him a bottle of his favorite wine and we all said goodnight. He seemed to have a good time and after he left, everyone was very happy to have the opportunity to meet him. Some people are just great!

Pugkin Fest - Pug Costume Party

This weekend we attended our first Pugkin Fest. There was easily 100 pugs there, all dressed in cute costumes. Maddie and Cooper were Wonder Woman and Superman (Cooperman). It was a really nice day at the park. Here's some of the funny costumes:

Jenna Bush

Last week, Jenna Bush returned to Austin to promote her new book, Ana's Story. Now, a lot of people hate anything Bush, but I've come to respect Jenna for trying to do her own thing even in the face of so much adversity for the Bush family. She did an internship with UNICEF last year during which she used her teaching skills to educate children in developing countries about HIV and AIDS. Some have said that the Bush daughters should be sent to Iraq to fight their daddy's war, but I think Jenna said it right, "Obviously I understand that question and see what the point of that question is, for sure," she said. "I think there are many ways to serve your country. And I think … what's most appropriate for me to do is to teach or to work in UNICEF and represent our country in Latin America. But you know I don't think it's a practical question. I think if people really thought about it, they know that we would put many people in danger. But I understand the point of it. I hope that I serve by being a teacher." It was nice meeting her at her Book People.

Kayaking on Lake Austin

Last week, Cristin and Shawn came to visit for the weekend. We had a good ole Austin time. We went to an Esther's Follies show, did Sixth Street, had some Texas-style BBQ at the Salt Lick and went Kayaking on Lake Austin. I still insist that the Pug video says, "Boop, Boop" despite the fact that they won the democratic vote that it is actually "Woop, Woop." Here's a few pics from the kayaking trip.

Henry Middle School Fall Concert

Cara had her Fall Concert on October 11, 2007. As usual, she worked incredibly hard to get the kids up to the task. All the work paid off, because they played great! The Concert Band directed by Chris Arnold and the Symphonic band directed by Robert Herrings were also wonderful! All in all, it was a very successful night for the Henry Middle School Band Program. I can't wait for the Christmas concert!

Beth and Glenn Are Married

On October 6th, Beth and Glenn tied the knot. It was our first Jewish wedding. The ceremony had all the familiar hallmarks of a wedding, but featured some nice touches that were very new to me. My favorite part of the wedding occurred at the very beginning. After approaching the chuppah (the canopy under which they were married), Beth circled Glenn seven times and Glenn circled Beth seven times symbolizing that each is the center of the other's world. The wedding took place in downtown Austin at the Omni Hotel and the reception afterwards was at the Thistle Cafe. Here's short video of the wedding:

I can't believe it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last December, I sent an email to Dr. Mario Capecchi to invite him to come to the University of Texas at Austin as a guest lecturer in our Gottlieb Lecture Series. He accepted the invitation. On Monday, they announced the winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Who happened to be the winner? MARIO CAPECCHI is the co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize along with Oliver Smithies of UNC Chapel Hill and Sir Martin Evans. He'll be coming here on October 25, 2007!!! How cool is that? We have been pretty lucky over the last few years, but this timing is incredibly lucky and it comes on the heels of our recent visit from Dr. James D. Watson, 1962 Nobel Laureate, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and founding father of the field of molecular biology.

And, here's a pic of me with Dr. Watson during his visit.

Soon Cara and I will be an aunt and uncle for the second time

Shaun and Christin are expecting their first child in November. Can't wait!

This is one of the many reasons I love the University of Texas at Austin

You never know what you're going to see on campus.

Al Gore presenting his Inconvenient Truth lecture at UT Austin

I added some music to make it more dramatic.

Recent visit to Sin City

I recently attended a bachelor party in Las Vegas for Thomas and Jason who are both getting married next year. The guys in this video are not my friends, but they sure did have a good time at the pool.
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas...right?

We stayed at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino.

We had dinner at the Social House, a Sushi Bar, and we met Carrot Top. He's huge!!!

A Sample of Circus Maximus

I recorded this sampling of the John Corigliano piece that Cara performed in Napa Valley, CA this summer. Cara plays throughout the piece but her solo begins with 2 minutes remaining at the end of this part. The entire piece is over 30 minutes in length. Turn up your speakers to get the full effect of the music. There is no video only audio.
Concert Review from "Napa Valley Register"

Leonine sound of 'Circus Maximus' blasts Festival into artistic stratosphere

By L. PIERCE CARSON
Register Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Commissioned and performed by the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble, John Corigliano's "Circus Maximus" underscores the nature of spectacle by presenting one.

Both earsplitting assault and swipe at our current hedonistic times, Corigliano's third symphony was the featured work on an impressive Festival del Sole program staged at Yountville's Lincoln Theater Sunday afternoon.

Written for woodwinds, brass and percussion instruments, Corigliano's incredible opus is best described by the composer himself. Although he was ill and not able to attend Sunday's concert, the composer explained in program notes that he was "influenced by a desire to write a piece in which the entire work is conceived spatially. But I started simply wondering what dramatic premise would justify the encirclement of the audience by musicians, so that they were in the center of an arena. This started my imagination going, and quite suddenly a title appeared in my mind: Circus Maximus.

"The Latin words, understandable in English, convey an energy and power by themselves. But the Circus Maximus of ancient Rome was a real place — the largest arena in the world — 300,000 spectators were entertained by chariot races, hunts and battles. The Roman need for grander and wilder amusement grew as its empire declined."
Corigliano feels that "parallels between the high decadence of Romeand our present time are obvious. Entertainment dominates our reality, and ever-more-extreme 'reality' shows dominate our entertainment. Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show.

"The shape of my Circus Maximus was built both to embody and to comment on this massive and glamorous barbarity."

And that it did, in glorious surround-sound that had saxophones serenading the audience from the balcony, trumpets sounding alarms from strategic points along the outer walls of the auditorium, even a marching band prancing up and down the aisles as the larger ensemble held forth on stage.

Before he gave the initial downbeat, conductor Jerry F. Junkin termed the work "a warning as much as it is a piece of music." He did inform us that loud passages might make our pulses race and a surprise ending might shock.

Then, as cleverly arranged by the composer, Junkin and company set in motion a dazzling performance of a work that demands to be heard. I was impressed with the stationing of brass among the aisles, allowing for blasts of sound across the seats, and then calling on the trumpeters to play intricate parts without flaw. As one might expect, the Texans performed gloriously — and flawlessly.

In fact, so did the entire 75-member ensemble, whether it was saxophones playing a siren song from on high or percussion and winds conjuring up music of the night from both urban and outback settings, brass and drums heralding a new dawn, or all 75 musicians revving up to imitate an errant channel surfer flirting with white noise. If there was a disappointment, it was that the "shocking" final sound didn't sound like a shotgun blast at all.

Nevertheless, Corigliano's "Circus Maximus" got its point across in sometimes joyous, sometimes sinister fashion. Nobody slept through this work.

As if this wasn't enough, Sunday's concert was more than just the gargantuan Corigliano work. It included a work that Igor Stravinsky composed for piano and wind orchestra. Throughout the 20th century, Stravinsky also embraced a new world of sound. Whatever he came up with was original, surprising and challenging.

A taxing work to be sure, Stravinsky's "Concerto for Piano and Wind" received an impeccable performance fromJohannesburg native Anton Nel and members of the University of Texas at Austin Wind Ensemble.

Maestro Junkin's meticulous lead allowed for an ideal partnership with the soloist. It was the central Largo that stood out, wonderfully cool and reflective, immediately offset by the brilliance of the finale. This was an ideal marriage of soloist and orchestra, an ideal reading.

Also pleasing was the program opener, selected works from a collection of 38 dances by 16th century composer Tielman Susato, called "The Danserye."

This was music for sackbuts and timbrels, with bassoons belching, triangles ringing, brass singing, plus maidens fair and lords a' leaping. Very medieval — or was that a Renaissance-style galliard they were hopping to?

And the lights stayed on. Although I bet all hell would have broken loose if they'd gone out like they did last Friday night — and we'd have thought Corigliano had written it into his score.

The Lambowitz Lab

The Lambowitz Lab recently took this picture as a going away gift to Manabu, one of our post-docs who is returning to Japan this month.
I'll introduce you to the members of the lab.
Starting on the far left standing behind the chairs:
1) Sabine is a longtime member of the lab. She came with Dr. Lambowitz from Ohio State University. She is a German scientist who's husband also works in the lab. Sabine does mostly biochemisty experiments while elucidating the mechanisms of RNA folding and RNA splicing.
2) Paul was previously a graduate student in the lab. He is now a post-doc and works on determining the molecular structure of RNAs and proteins.
3) Marta is a senior lab techician. She works predominantly on gene targeting in Xenopus laevis (the African clawed frog). Marta works closely with Fang Lei on these projects. Since she is from Italy, Marta is often asked for culinary advice.
4) Mark is another protein biochemist. He came to the lab from the University of Miami. He works with Sabine and Paul to determine the activity of proteins involved in RNA splicing.
5) Junhua recently graduated from the PhD program. She has been working in our lab to understand the localization of our protein of interest in bacterial cells. She has shown that the protein tends to be localized to the poles of bacterial cells. Since I've known Junhua she has gotten married and had her first child.
6) Lawrence is a senior lab technician who specializes in cell culture. He spends most of his time in the cell culture room performing experiments on human and mouse cells. He is an important member of the eukaryotic gene targeting project. He advises me on my cell culture experiments and helps all of us troubleshoot our experiments.
7) Jun is a Chinese graduate student who works on bacterial gene targeting. He has been very productive in developing targeting systems for various types of bacteria. His work is potentially significant for battling pathogenic bacteria to help fight diseases and bio-terrorism.
8) That's me in the back there.
9) Travis is an American graduate student who is a part of the eukaryotic gene targeting project. His experiments are very similar to mine. We both are trying to target genes in human cells and other multicellular organisms. Travis is a native Texan.
10) Joe is a recent addition to the eukaryotic gene targeting team. He came from an industry job and has recently completed his first year in the cell and molecular biology program. Joe is also trying to use group II introns to target animal genes.
11) Shanquin is a Chinese post-doc who came to the lab from a German laboratory. He works on UV crosslinking of intron RNA to RNA-binding proteins in order to determine RNA structure and RNA-protein interactions. His experiments basically consist of exposing RNA molecules bound to proteins to ultraviolet light so that nucleotides in close proximity to the protein will form covalent bonds. Determining where the protein and RNA form these bonds allows for RNA and protein structure predictions.
12) Georg is a German scientist and longtime member of the lab. He is married to Sabine. He works on the evolutionary relationships of RNA binding proteins among many other things. He also works to determine the activity of these proteins in bacterial cells. His work allows us to understand the mechanisms of RNA binding proteins and reverse transcriptase protein including the HIV reverse transcriptase.
13) Jake is a Biochemistry graduate student. He has been studying DNA target recognition by the group II intron ribonucleoprotein. His experiments are somewhat related to Shanquin's.
In the front row seated from left to right:
14) Fang Lei is a Chinese graduate student. She works closely with Marta to target genes in the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis). Her experiments involve isolating nuclei from frog sperm and performing targeting of the frog genome in vitro (in a test tube). After targeting the sperm nuclei, she injects the targeted nuclei into unfertilized frog eggs and screens for intron-containing embryos.
15) Asaka and Alain are Manabu's wife and son. It amazes me that I have been here long enough for the birth of Manabu's son and to watch him grow into a little boy.
16) Manabu is a Japanese post-doc who is returning to Japan. He has been a very important contributor to the lab. He has performed significant biochemical experiments that help us understand the behavior of the group II intron RNP. He recently joined the eukaryotic gene targeting team and made great strides to push us forward in our experiments. His contributions have significantly improved my experiments and he has taught me a lot about designing my experiments. He will be missed.
17) Alexis is a new graduate student in the lab. She works closely with Jun on the bacterial gene targeting project.
18) Alan is the boss. He has put together this great group of scientists and he keeps us all on task...a huge endeavor!
19) Roland is another longtime member of the lab. He is a jack of all trades. He specializes in developing expression systems for bacteria and yeast cells. I think of him as "the book" because he is truly a resource more complete than Wikipedia. If I have a problem, Roland is the first person I think to ask.
Believe it or not, some members are not present.
Sinjong, Cheryl, Jessica, Lauren and our undergraduate techs are not pictured.
So, that's the lab.

Molly Sims???

I'm a pug!

Our trip to San Francisco and the Wine Country

Mom and Emily come to visit

Congratulations Matt and Elyse

Kally has a band.

What's new?

Well, it's summer in Austin which means it's really heating up. Cara and I are busy as usual. Even though Cara has recently completed her second year as Assistant Band Director at Henry Middle School, she is still very busy teaching private lessons and counseling/teaching at UT and ECU band camps this month. In addition, she is already practicing her music for her performance with the UT Wind Ensemble at the festival del sole in Napa Valley California in July. We are both very excited about this event because neither of us has been to Napa Valley. I am excited to hear the Corigliano piece, again. It is the same piece that Cara and the UT Wind Ensemble performed in Carnegie Hall. As for me, I'm still working daily to finish my graduate research for my PhD. I know that I've been in Austin for a long time and I would love to be wrapping things up, but my project has proven to be a much bigger challenge than I originally anticipated. When I arrived at UT and began work on this project, there were only two people working on eukaryotic gene targeting in mammalian cells. Since I have been here, we have expanded our team to about 10 people including 2 Post-doctoral fellows, 5 graduate students, 2 technicians and undergrads. We have also expanded the scope of the project from only mammalian cell culture to mice, frogs, zebrafish, and fruit flies. I have shown that group II introns are capable of integrating into DNA targets in fruit flies and zebrafish and we have patented this discovery. However, our main goal of obtaining a living organism that possesses a disrupted gene via an integrated intron at a chosen target site has remained elusive. I have some data that suggests that I have successfully disrupted the CCR5 gene in human cells which would be a major breakthrough. The CCR5 gene encodes a cell membrane protein that is recognized by HIV to infect human T cells. Disrupting this gene makes cells resistant to HIV infection. Unfortunately, I have not been able to defintively confirm the integration, so I must trudge on. It is my full intention to see this project through to the end, but I fear that time is moving faster than my progress. Recently, I took on another project that is much more likely to lead to data that will allow me to graduate in a reasonable time-frame. This project involves studying a group II intron from E. coli that has been shown to have retargeting capabilities. We will be looking at the very basic mechanisms by which this intron targets DNA. I feel very comfortable with this project and if it proves to be productive, it will reduce some of the pressure that I put on myself to graduate. I believe that as I progress on this new project, I will be able to focus more on the eukaryotic gene targeting project without feeling like my life depends on the eukaryotic project. So, that's the most I've ever written about my graduate research on my blog. I think I'll leave that subject for now.
This summer for me will also be lots of fun. We just returned from a short trip to NC to get some much needed R&R. It was wonderful to see our friends and family in NC. And soon, Mom will be coming to visit with my niece, Emily. I'm really looking forward to their time in Austin. I can't wait to show Emily some of the really fun and cool places that we have here in Austin. In July, I'll be joining Cara at the festival del sole. That will be an amazing experience. I can't wait to hear her play again and I'm sure that we will visit some of the vineyards and wineries. I'm also excited to go to San Francisco. Cara's never been to S.F. but I have. I've learned so much about S.F. since my visit that I'm very excited to return to the Bay City. In August, we're planning to go to Cara's cousin, Angela's wedding and in the same week, I'm supposed to go to a Yankees/Red Sox baseball game. I'm hoping that Roger Clemens will be pitching. Well, that's the update for now. If you'd like to comment, please shoot me an email. I love hearing from family and friends.
Cheers!
Click on the picture to go to the Festival Del Sole website:

I think I've got a crush on John Edwards!

So, yesterday Former North Carolina Senator and Presidential Candidate John Edwards came to Austin. He gave a speech at Schultz's Beer Garden in downtown Austin. I was late to the event so I missed most of the speech, but afterwards he stuck around for questions. I stuck around, as well, shook his hand and wished him well. At one time, I thought that John was going to be my pick for President in '08, but since he has gone with the radical left on the war, I have presently changed my position. I'm not sure that his plan for an immediate withdrawal of troops is in the best interest of America's Middle East policies. I can't believe that I would say this, but I agree more with Hillary's message that withdrawing troops immediately following the installation of the next president will be a disaster. However, his populist approach is appealing on some level and I believe in universal health care for many reasons including what I feel is most important: preventative care based on genetic testing.
He is a good-looking man, though...I may be developing something of a crush. ;)

Trip to Wilmington, NC

We had a blast this weekend in Wilmingon, NC. Cara and I visited Shaun and Christin and Cristin and Shawn and my Mom. We spent a fair amount of time on the beach and we had a lot of good ol' North Carolina fine dining at Bojangle's, the Sawmill and the George. We were blessed by a special visit from Tropical Storm Barry on Sunday, but it blew through pretty quickly leaving some nice swells. I was very happy to get out there and test my hand at surfing again. It took me a while to catch some waves, but once it started happening, I felt like I was in high school again.
We also met with Brandon, Brian, Jason and Jamey for a night on the town. And my high school buddy, Dave, joined us out for a couple of nights, as well. It was really great to see everyone again and I can't wait to get back to NC, soon. We have several opportunities to see some of our friends again...Brian's wedding is coming, Austin City Limits Festival is always beckoning and we'll be in NJ in August. What a weekend! Life is good!!!
Look Christin, you're a YouTube star!

Cara's parents come to visit

We always love it when we have guests, especially the DeFranks! We get to do things that we wouldn't normally do and it's so much fun. During their visit we had lots of good food including the usual Austin staples - Maudie's Tex Mex and Rudy's BBQ. We also went to Fredericksburg, TX for a day of shopping. And before they left we went to Cara's spring concert. It was a great time! Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Backyard Party Anyone?

Thanks to Cara's parents, we recently relandscaped our backyard. Cara and I love it and the doggies are really happy to be able to play in the backyard again.
Here's a few pics of the project.
BEFORE:

DURING:

"Oh my god, was this a mistake?":

AFTER:

Meet Future Nobel Laureate William Ernest Halls

WEH is the first born son of my friends Coralie and Steve. He is a beautiful baby boy. At birth, he weighed 7 pounds 13 ounces. Congrats Coralie and Steve!!!

Meet Nobel Laureate Ferid Murad

This is a picture of Dr. Ferid Murad, FangLei Zhuang (a friend and fellow Lambowitz lab member) and myself at the graduate student potluck dinner following the Paul D. Gottlieb Lecture. Dr. Ferid Murad recently gave a lecture as part of the Paul D. Gottlieb Lecture Series at UT Austin. Dr. Murad received the Nobel Prize in 1998 for for his discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signaling molecule in the cardiovascular system. His discoveries led to the development of cardiovascular drugs such as Viagra. I am very appreciative for Dr. Murad's willingness to come to UT upon our invitation. My friends and I initiated the Paul D. Gottlieb Lecture series in 2003 and we have been fortunate to bring 4 Nobel Laureates to Austin as part of the series. In the fall, I will be the official host for Dr. James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA. Dr. Watson is one of the most famous scientists of the last century. I am excited that he has accepted our invitation to come to UT.

My Boogie Bahn Blooper

Cara and I went to Schlitter Bahn on Saturday with her students. We didn't partake in too many of the attractions, but my withdrawals for surfing forced me to try the Boogie Bahn. Take a gander at these skills!

Six Flags Over Texas

Here's a short video clip of our trip to Six Flags over Texas for Cara's Middle School Band Trip.

Mary Matalin and James Carville speak at the University of Texas at Austin

James Carville was actually very entertaining while discussing contemporary politics. He makes some very interesting predictions.

Mary Matalin

Dedicated to those seeking love

I've been fortunate to find the love of my life. One way that I know that I'm in love is because sometimes it seems that no matter where I look, I am surrounded by love. For some, though, love seems hard to come by. The message in this video is that love is where you find it...sometimes it's in the least expected places.

Birthday Party for Ishmael Soto

This weekend Cara and I went to a birthday party for Ishmael Soto. Ishmael is the father of one of Cara's private lessons students and he happens to be an accomplished sculptural artist. The party took place at the Mexic-Arte Museum in downtown Austin, Texas where he currently has an exhibition of his work.

Artie Henry Middle School UIL Performance

Cara's students recently performed at the UIL competition at Georgetown High School. They earned perfect scores. We were very proud of Cara and her band students.

Physics Nobel Laureate - Steven Weinberg discusses the Origin of the Universe

This is a video clip of Steven Weinberg discussing the Origin of the Universe. The lecture is part of the Middleton Lecture sponsored by the LBJ Library. Lady Bird Johnson, the former first lady, was in attendance. Some people say that my videos are boring so I included a special surprise at the end. Enjoy!!!

I'd like to introduce you to Esmee Denters

I discovered this 18 year old girl from Holland on YouTube and I think that she is incredibly talented. In the last year she has posted videos of herself singing songs while sitting in her bedroom. She became so popular on YouTube that record producers have approached her and now she is working on some recordings. This song demonstrates why she is so popular. Check it out!

A weekend of music

Cara's parents came to visit along with our new friends, Joanne and Yates. We made the most of their time in Austin by taking in as many shows as possible. The result was a Texas-sized portion of music, dancing and great food.

Zilker Kite Festival - Austin, Texas

The day was so nice that Cara and I had to get out and do something. Fortunately, the Zilker Kite Festival was taking place. Here's a little video of our day at the park with the dogs.

Currently Reading

I'm currently reading Eyewitness to Power by David Gergen. For 30 years, David Gergen has been an active participant in American national life. He served as director of communications for President Reagan and held positions in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford. In 1993, he put his country before politics when he agreed to first serve as counselor to President Clinton on both foreign policy and domestic affairs, then as special international adviser to the president and to Secretary of State Warren Christopher.

David Gergen is a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is also editor-at-large at U.S. News & World Report. Mr. Gergen also regularly serves as an analyst on various news shows, and he is a frequent lecturer at venues around the world.

David Gergen recently gave a lecture to a group of students attending a leadership conference on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. After the lecture, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Gergen and getting him to autograph my copy of his book. Now, I'm reading it. Like his lecture, it has already proven to be somewhat dry, but the content reveals Mr. Gergen's intimate relationship with history as it unfolded. I am enjoying it mainly for its historical perspective and the wisdom that Mr. Gergen conveys, whether it be a quote from Nixon or his own take on historical events.

Below are some video clips of the highlights of the lecture:

Daniel Johnston at the Parish Room

I dragged Cara, Chad and Mireya to see Daniel Johnston this weekend. I'm intrigued by Daniel Johnston because he has such an unusual life story. He is an Austin music legend with cult status and when I heard that he was playing in Austin, I had to see him. I'm still intrigued.

As with other talented but troubled artists such as Syd Barrett, Brian Wilson, and Roky Erickson, Daniel Johnston fights a daily battle with the chronic mental illness that has plagued him nearly his entire life. However, despite recurrent bouts of delusional behavior wherein he has physically endangered himself and others, Johnston has carved out a respectable, influential career as a singer/songwriter of extraordinary talent which has grown since his first crudely recorded cassette was released in 1980. He became the singer/songwriter of choice of the alternative/underground rock scene, and at various times has had his work championed by members of Sonic Youth, Yo La Tengo, Butthole Surfers, Half Japanese, Nirvana (Kurt Cobain was often photographed wearing a Daniel Johnston T-shirt), and numerous others. ~Biography courtesy of www.rejectedunknown.com
Warning: I made this video a little creepy to reflect Daniel's dark side.

Cara's getting her band ready for UIL

This is the Artie Henry Middle School Concert Band I Pre-UIL performance. I think they've done an excellent job preparing for UIL. Send Cara luck!

Check out my close encounter with Barack Obama

At the end of the video, you'll see that he walked right up to me. I didn't get to shake his hand because I was making this video of the moment.

Help my buddy Matt raise money for Big Brothers and Big Sisters

I recently received the following email from my buddy, Matt. I would like to help him meet his goal and beyond, so if you have a couple of bucks or more to donate to The Big Brothers and Big Sisters Foundation, please help. Click on the picture to go to his donation page.
Cheers!

I have volunteered for my company's 2007 Bowl for Kids team and I sure could use your help. I'm part of a 5 person team and we're each hoping to raise at least $125 by THIS SATURDAY NIGHT February 24. We bowl on a night when other architectural, engineering, and design firms bowl. Ultimately, we compete against STG, GS&C, Bury, and many others.

TBG Partners bowled last year and had a great time raising money for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters chapter. Although we weren't the top fundraisers, it was still good to know that we could help out a great cause. This year we've set our goal to be the largest supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters in our division.

I'd appreciate any financial gift you'd be willing to provide me with. No amount is too small, everything helps! Please visit my personal donation page and help me reach or exceed my goal.

Thanks for helping!

Guess Who's Coming to Austin?

I'm sure that I'll be producing a video for this event so I'll post it as soon as it is done.

Currently Reading - State of Denial

So, I finished reading "From Baghdad with Love" in a very short time. It was a really nice story about a soldier's endeavors to bring a stray dog from Iraq to the US. It was definitely an uplifting story so I won't ruin it by revealing the details. I enjoyed it for the story about the dog, Lava, and because it gives some insight into the inner workings of the military in Iraq. It's a quick read so you should read it yourself.

I'm already halfway through "State of Denial" and I must say that it is one of the most engrossing books that I have ever read. Composed by Bob Woodward, the Washington Post journalist famous for his stories about the Nixon Watergate scandal in the 70's, this book is very well written with incredible details about the Bush Administration's build up and execution of the War in Iraq. I have a difficult time putting the book down once I start to read it. I am amazed at the level of access to conversations and relationships between the pentagon and the white house that he has. I am stunned by the frankness with which Woodward reveals the failings of the administration, in both decision-making and communication. If you read a single book about the war in Iraq, you must read this one. I'll write more about this book in the future.

I'm also really excited that Woodward and Bernstein, the other Watergate journalist, will both be coming to the University of Texas at Austin on March 23, 2007. Like Norman Mailer's visit, I hope to see their lecture and get an autograph.

Recently completed:
From Baghdad with Love
by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth
1984
by Eric Blair (George Orwell)
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart

Click the picture

Because baby pictures always make you feel better...

This is a picture of Lainey Roth, daughter of Adam and Suzy Roth. Isn't she gorgeous?!

I just had to post a couple of these...

To see more smackdown on Carolina, click here.

2005-2006 Artie Henry Middle School Cadet Band

I made this video last summer for Cara's band. It was her first year at Henry Middle School and I thought it would be a good keepsake. I'm posting it now, because I don't think that I've posted it on my blog, yet. I just recently moved it from Google Videos to YouTube.

Peace Rally in Austin, Texas January 27, 2007

As some of you may know, I have been a proponent of the war in Iraq since the beginning. However, like many who chose to lend their support to the President, I feel that I have been deceived. First, it was the failure to adequately negotiate with the United Nations to form a true coalition of the willing. Then, it was the failure to assemble an adequate military force to execute the war. Third, it was the failure to establish a post-war plan. Fourth, it was a failure to find any significant stockpiles of WMDs. Next, it was a failure to properly oversee the methods of interrogation, ie. Abu Ghraib. Sixth, it was a failure to educate members of the government and military superiors of the complexities of Iraqi internal strife (this was actually one of the first failures but it became apparent when neither of the heads of the committee overseeing intelligence could answer the question of whether al Qeada was Sunni or Shi'a). Seventh, and most sickening, at some point we decided to scrap the Geneva convention resolutions. Shall I continue? The Bush administration has violated so many of the things that once gave us a moral authority that I can no longer keep track.

Believe it or not, I am still optimistic that the troop surge may help with the violence in Baghdad, but I'm losing my resolve. I have been steadfast in my defense of the war, but I'm becoming anxious and confused. I am coming to grips with the idea that American soldiers will never convert the Iraqis to a peaceful existence. But, I am not comfortable with simply removing those troops from Iraq and leaving the country to the fanatical vultures who will swoop in and fill the void. I do not know what to do or who to believe. In my heart, I know that the American soldiers are representing us well in Iraq, but my mind tells me that the people of Iraq are so warped by religious fanaticism and hatred for the west that America cannot help them reach freedom. They do not want it badly enough. If you asked me what we should do, I would say we should stay, but I cannot say what our role should be. Bush has screwed up such a great opportunity that we may be forced to withdraw. What then?

So, that being said, I recently attended a peace rally in Austin. I had the idea that I would ask a few people questions about the war and perhaps their comments would help me find my own version of peace with this issue. I recorded this video at the rally and made this little mini-doc.
Enjoy!

Currently Reading

So, I'm currently reading From Baghdad with Love by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman with Melinda Roth. I received this book as a Christmas gift from my mother-in-law and I'm really enjoying it. It is a story about a stray puppy named Lava that lives with members of the First Battalion, Third Marines during their tour in Iraq. It is easy to read compared to the last two books that I have read so I look forward to a few days of pleasant reading.

The last book that I completed was 1984 by George Orwell. I chose to read this book because it came up in a recent discussion and I wanted to revisit the subject addressed in the anti-Utopian novel. No doubt, I could write pages of commentary on the parallels between the world described by Orwell and modern times, but it would be a heavy subject to post here. I would like to recommend to everyone that you read this novel and think critically about where our society is headed.

I will include one of my own ideas, though. The grossest and most disturbing point made in the book is the dehumanization of mankind by the government. This is not my biggest fear. I do not fear the government because democracy protects us, to some extent, from government-backed oppression. My biggest fear is mentioned in the Afterword of 1984 which was composed by Erich Fromm. My biggest fear is corporate dehumanization. What I mean by corporate dehumanization is the power that corporations have over our freedom to think and the chance that this will lead to a loss of humanity for the sake of corporate domination. Fromm describes it using the example of a person who works for a big company that claims that its product is better than all its competitors' products. This person does not concern himself with determining whether it is a true fact that the product is the best, rather he concerns himself with convincing us, the customers, that his company's product is the best. This type of thinking is called "mobile truth." And, I can see its ugly head appearing today in the large corporate media upon which we depend for our daily news. No one disputes that Fox, CNN and NBC are competing against each other for viewers/readers. And, no one disputes that these news organizations target the content of their news dispatches to specific demographics while maintaining that they are "fair and balanced" or "the most trusted source for news." It is clear that O'Reilly, Hannity and Colmes, Olberman, etc. are exercising "mobile truth-telling" and all the while the consumers, you and I, are at a loss for the true truth. My fear is that truth will be lost in the battle for the "trust" of the consumer. The battle for trust will lead us to instilling "faith" in our news sources. And, faith will lead us to war...war in America, to determine who possesses the truth. There is hope, however. The embodiment of hope, to me, comes in the form of modern information sharing technologies, specifically, internet web sites like YouTube and the entire blogosphere of which you are partaking by reading my blog. As long as individuals have the ability to share information, we will all have access to the truth.
Cheers!

Recently completed:
1984
by Eric Blair (George Orwell)
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart

A great idea...

Ice Storm

Well, it wasn't too long ago that I said that Austin rarely gets any really cold weather. I guess I'll have to eat those words. We got enough snow and ice to shut down the city for a couple of days. It doesn't take much. Here's some video of our little ice storm.

Pernell - Fanny Pack!

This video was made by our wedding videographer, Pernell Disney. When we met him at the wedding, we knew that he was a nice guy, but we had no idea that he was so funny and creative. If you don't know it, the song is a remake of Justin Timberlake's song Sexy Back. Enjoy!!!

Martin Luther King, Jr. - I have a dream speech

Have you ever listened to the "Dream" speech in it's entirety? If not, please click the link below and listen carefully. It is powerful.

Currently Reading

Finally, I completed reading The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer. It may not be a compliment to say that reading this novel was hard work, but I think that it can be understood by anyone who has taken the time to read every word on the 720 pages of this novel. While reading this book about soldiers battling the Japanese in WWII, at times, I felt like I was right there in the the thick of it with them. As the soldiers willed themselves up Mount Anaka, as they struggled to march through the jungles of the island of Anopopei, as they fought with one another to find their place among the platoon's heirarchy, I felt that I, too, endured all of their battles. Mailer says in his introduction to the fiftieth edition of this novel that the reader should find hope upon completion of this work. I mostly felt relief. Now, though, I find that I continually revisit the situations in the novel and feel a sense of appreciation for the lessons learned. I think that the stories in this novel will forever be with me.

Remaining in the time period of the Naked and the Dead, I am now reading Eric Blair's (George Orwell) 1984. Both novels were written in the mid to late forties and I am curious to see if I can recognize any parallels. I did not plan it this way, but I look forward to studying 1984 in the context of Mailer's book and comparing this to the current political atmosphere. Although I've read this book previously, I'm sure that my perspective has changed since I was in ninth grade.

Recently completed:
The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
My War: Killing Time in Iraq
by Colby Buzzell
No God but God: The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam
by Reza Azlan
Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War
by Anthony Shadid
The Places in Between
by Rory Stewart