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Survivor and Starbucks

I think most of my friends know that I’m a big 80’s melodic rock fan. One of my favorite groups from that genre is Survivor. The other night on TV, I saw a new Starbucks commercial (the previous text was a link to a .wmv file [the file is still there], but the newest Firefox isn’t happy with it, so I got rid of the link). I almost fell off the couch laughing and screaming when I figured out that it was really Survivor in the commercial. That’s just absolutely priceless.

Note:
The commercial in the file above is longer than the one they’re showing on TV. I can’t believe they wrote an entire verse and chorus!

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In Memoriam

Her name is Duffie Miller. I knew her first as Duffie Downing. She was named for her grandmother, who was an elementary teacher at our school. Amy, in her blog post termed Duffie’s siblings as “ragtag.” Duffie would probably smile at that description. She was the older of two biological children born to a couple that adopted (I think) 10 more children, spread in age from several years older to several years younger than Duffie and me (Duffie and I were in the same grade in school). I don’t remember when I first met her. It was certainly some time in elementary school (after I transferred to Central for the beginning of fourth grade). It was probably when we started beginner band together in fifth grade.

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Nostalgia and Shrimp Sauce

Yes, it’s that time of year again, friends. A couple of weeks ago, I took another trip to Tuscaloosa as a corporate representative at the career fair. I promise I’m going to try to write about things other than my trips there, but it always seems like I come away from these trips with more to say than usual. Fortunately, I’m in a much less introspective mood than usual, and you even get a few pictures this time.

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Going Back (part 2)

I left the house at about 6:30 Saturday morning. It had been over 4 years since I had last made the 3 hour drive from the home where I grew up to Tuscaloosa. From homecoming at my high school the night before, I was driving to homecoming at UA.

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Going Back (part 1)

Going back is always interesting. This last Friday night marked the 10th anniversary of my high school senior year homecoming football game. In honor of the occasion, classmates organized a reception and special seating at the game. Since I had not seen a lot of these people in over 9 years, I decided it would be cool to stop by and see who would show up.

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Beetles, Joyrides, and Fried Chicken

Anyone who has read my first post here is aware that I associate certain music very strongly with events or periods in my life. From time to time, I’m going to drop in a nugget here and there. Tonight’s selection concerns a set of pop music that I’ve come to call “Com-Pak music.”

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Autumn Leaves

Last week, I got an opportunity to participate in a recruiting trip to my undergraduate alma mater. It’s been over three years since I walked across the stage in my cap and gown, eager to get to the next chapter in my life. Since then, I’ve visited campus a few times. Every time I go, things reach out and catch on my memory rather like leaves catching on my clothing as I walk through a forest. This post is about those leaves and how some of them can be so unexpected.

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Learning to be a Fan

Welcome to Sliding Constant. This post deserves a bit of a preface. I wrote this little essay in November of 2000… before I ever knew that there was going to be a “Sliding Constant”. I held onto this knowing that it would be the first post of any web log I started. As it turns out, the post ended up partially inspiring the whole concept for the site. I hope you enjoy.