John profile picture

John

They did not stare at the floor. They were there to make some noise and have some fun.

About Me

I'm an Air Force officer, attorney, music fan, and member of the Pittsburgh diaspora. I moved to Spokane this month after two fun-filled years in Washington, DC. I have plenty of stories to tell, and I'm usually pretty good at making people laugh, most of the time by design. Having climbed Mt Fuji two times, I've confirmed the truth of the Japanese proverb about people who climb that mountain twice.
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My Interests

Pittsburgh Steelers, Rice University, rock 'n' roll, history, reading, film, running, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pitt football and basketball, military justice, fantasy football and baseball, karaoke, sushi, dancing, The Man, paying off student loan debt, blogs, international travel, Calvin and Hobbes, healthy eating, Landmark Education

I'd like to meet:

Hines Ward. Prince. Barry Bonds (as an adult, that is...). Bonnie Bernstein. Anyone interested in bringing grand opera to the Peruvian jungle.

Music:

Mott The Hoople, Beatles, Stones, Kinks, Who, Roxy Music, Cars, Cheap Trick, Spoon, Wilco, Bob Dylan, Frampton Brothers, Breakup Society, Weezer, Ben Folds, Steely Dan, Fleetwood Mac, Cobra Verde, Pretenders, Clash, Cynics, Modey Lemon, Raspberries, Madonna, Elvis Costello, Le Tigre, Beach Boys, Ramones, David Bowie, New York Dolls, Rod Stewart, Hall and Oates, Go-Go's, XTC, Squeeze

Movies:

Star Wars, Empire Strikes Back, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Fitzcarraldo, Three Amigos, Office Space, Heathers, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, Lost In Translation, Undercover Brother, Until Sunset, Boogie Nights, The Producers, This Is Spinal Tap, Three Kings, Virgin Suicides, The Natural, Hoosiers, Princess Bride, Adventures In Babysitting, Manchurian Candidate, Dr. Strangelove, My Fair Lady, The Music Man, Pirates Of Penzance, The Straight Story, Flash Gordon, 9 To 5, Superman II, The Great Muppet Caper, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Heaven's Gate, Jackie Brown, Borat, Idiocracy

Television:

Freaks & Geeks (R.I.P.), NFL Primetime (R.I.P.), Baseball Tonight, Sportscenter, Soap, Press Your Luck, Mr. Show, All In The Family, The Daily Show, The Simpsons, Beavis & Butthead, Fraggle Rock, The L Word

Books:

Fahrenheit 451, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, Charlie Wilson's War, Stairway To Hell, The Accidental Evolution Of Rock And Roll, Moneyball, What's A Nice Harvard Boy Like You Doing In The Bushes?, The Last Lion, The Metaphysical Club, Fields Of Fire, Joe Turner's Come And Gone, Psychotic Reactions & Carburator Dung, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Ball Four, Double Yoi!, Crashing The Gate, America's Constitution: A Biography, Love Is A Mix Tape, The Soul of Baseball

Heroes:

Bill James, Ric Ocasek, Lindsey Buckingham, Dan Rooney, Ben Franklin, James Webb, Russ Feingold, Wayne Graham, Mark Cuban

My Blog

The Thunderbird Cafe, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 9/4/07

At the suggestion of Tommy Amoeba, Zanna, Nick and I went to karaoke night at The Thunderbird Cafe in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. It turned out to be a first-rate karaoke experience: gre...
Posted by John on Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:33:00 PST

On Being 33

A man told me to beware of 33He said, "It was not an easy time for me"But I'll get through even thoughI've got no miracles to show you-- Pulp, "Dishes" (1998)I'm not the cat I used to beI got a kidI'm...
Posted by John on Sat, 28 Jul 2007 05:36:00 PST

Snubbed Again

I was mildly disappointed to learn that not only did I, for the second consecutive year, fail to make The Hill's list of the "50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill", but that none of my many certif...
Posted by John on Sat, 28 Jul 2007 07:55:00 PST

(Relatively) Sudden Departure

Family and Friends,I learned on Tuesday that I will be moving to a new assignment in September. I will be trading one "eastern Washington" for another: moving from criminal appellate defense work in ...
Posted by John on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 08:08:00 PST

Top 20

Halfway into the year, here are the 20 most played songs in my "2007 Releases" folder on iTunes:1. Sloan, "Another Way I Could Do It"2. Shins, "Turn On Me"3. Sloan, "Ana Lucia"4. Smithereens, "Don't B...
Posted by John on Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:27:00 PST

Welcome To My Neighborhood

As I live about ten minutes on foot from RFK Stadium, this part of Jim Hawkins' whiny article for a Michigan paper about his trip to RFK amused me:After the game, it's not hard to get a taxi outside t...
Posted by John on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 03:25:00 PST

It was twenty years ago today...

"What was your best day in baseball?...Hang on to your day. If you hang on to that day, you'll stay young. Keep it in your heart. And I will keep it in my heart." -- Buck O'Neil, 1911-2006, quoted ...
Posted by John on Wed, 06 Jun 2007 06:14:00 PST

US v. Carr

Last month, the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces issued an opinion in another case of mine, US. v. Carr (65 M.J. 39). I am disappointed that the Court disagreed with our position. Nevertheless,...
Posted by John on Sat, 02 Jun 2007 09:49:00 PST

Perhaps they would pay me to stay away...

Earlier tonight, I made it to my fifth Washington Nationals game of the season, a 10-0 loss to the Dodgers. They've lost all five games, and been outscored 41-8. I'm hoping this keeps up when the Pi...
Posted by John on Wed, 30 May 2007 07:00:00 PST

Memorial Day

Following in the tradition of how I ran from my house to the Lincoln Memorial and back on Presidents' Day, I celebrated Memorial Day by running to Arlington National Cemetery. As the weather was warm...
Posted by John on Tue, 29 May 2007 04:16:00 PST