Self-Cartoonization: ZeN

   

  

Self-Cartoonization: Gif: Da BOYS!!!

I LOVE MY 'BOYS!

Self Cartoonization: In the City

Self Cartoonization: Never Waiting. Always Pondering

Self Cartoonization: Picture You, Picture Me

Cartoonization: John's World of Baseball

Cartoonization: SARA ❣ Like'A'Boss

Self Cartoonization: (Reading and) Mastering the Masters Program

Ŧexas Ŧech: If Coach Kingsbury Gets Fired.

Via SBNation/Viva the MaŦadors
Ŧexas Ŧech: If Coach Kingsbury Gets Fired

Ŧexas Ŧech University: Coach Kingsbury

. . . Shameless Ŧexas Ŧech Admin at it again. Firing before thinking.
           I’m not saying the my beloved Ŧexas Ŧech Red Raider football program doesn’t deserve to win conference or even national championships. I am, however, saying that we lack a sense of purpose and a plan of action. Look, I’ve been a fan all my life. I’ll die being a fan. I am also a former student. I did not get to graduate with a bachelor’s degree, but I do hope to obtain my doctorate’s degree from Ŧexas Ŧech! #WreckEm! I bleed scarlet and black, 24/7/365. But, Ŧexas Ŧech has a serious problem, and we cannot call ‘Houston’ for help with this one.
           You see, as much as I love Ŧexas Ŧech, I know (you know it, too) we are not on even keel as the storied football programs across the country or in the Big XII. The U of Texas can fire its poor-performing head football coach because that program has experienced conference championships and national championships throughout the many years. Texas has earned the right to demand better and quicker results of their football HC. The Texas A&M football program; they, too, like UT, have had success, but the thing that sets them apart is their alumni money. When Aggies don’t like something, the alumni complains to the powers-that-be at A&M; and threatens to not donate the millions of dollars they are known to donate each and every single year. Longhorn or Aggies fans don’t leave the football stadium in droves when their team is losing. Sorry, alma mater of mine/dear Ŧexas Ŧech, but this season I saw more fair-weather fans at Ŧexas Ŧech than I have ever seen in my entire life—more than I care to ever see again—leaving the hallowed bleachers of Jones Stadium when their Ŧexas Ŧech Red Raiders were losing. I have never left a game (and never will leave) when Ŧexas Ŧech was losing. The Red Raider fans are complaining this season, but when the masses had the chance to voice their concerns, they failed. Let’s go back to 2009 for elaboration.

           We all know how the Ŧexas Ŧech football program rose to fame, with great promise in hand—until the “Tech Three” messed things up for the Ŧech football program in 2009: AD Gerald Myers, chancellor Kent Hance, and president Guy Bailey fired Coach Leach. That was the beginning of the downfall of the Ŧech football program. I attended numerous “Team Leach” rallies and meetings. I sent letters and emails to the “Tech Three" demanding that Leach not be fired, but nothing worked. There were plenty of Ŧech fans bitching and complaining about the wrongful firing of Leach; many agreeing that it would be to the detriment of the football program for years to come, but there were hardly any  Ŧech protestors protesting. Fans and alumni bitched on social media, but few put their money where their mouth was, so the “Tech Three” did whatever they wanted to do even if it put the program back to square one. The “Tech Three” did not love our U as we did. Moreover, the “Tech Three” did not listen to their fanbase or alumni, because as much as the fanbase and alumni have currently resorted to leaving games early these days when Ŧech is losing, back in 2009, the fanbase and alumni were still just as complacent and not serious enough! The Ŧech fanbase and alumni still bitched, but they did little to demand transparency and honesty from the Ŧech powers-that-be: the “Tech Three” a.k.a. the Tech Administration. If fans and/or alumni do not voice their concerns, no one will care. The Ŧech fanbase and alumni has allowed so many unjust things to occur because they did not protest against them. Leaving a football game early is not protesting. That is just called being a bad fan, a t-shirt fan, or a fair-weather fan.

           If we Ŧech fans and alumni want to one day be a storied program based on conference titles and even a national championship or more, we are going to have to demand more of our Ŧech administration. Let’s not pound on the coaching staff who really is limited to how their own football program works.

           Love Coach Kingsbury or not, he is what Ŧech stands for: He is loyal, enthusiastic, and a proud Matador. He did not come to Ŧech to use our football program as a stepping stone—to better his own coaching career. He came here because he genuinely loves his alma mater and wants to see it prosper. He is not like coach Williams of the 80s or coach Tuberville of the 90s; Coach K came to Ŧech to see a dream realized: Not his dream of being an HC, but a dream of turning the Ŧexas Ŧech football program around. The issues that have plagued Ŧech are decades in the making. Coach Kingsbury cannot fix the myriad of issues in just six years. To the Ŧexas Ŧech Admins, be hella patient already and stick to your guns (pardon the pun), stick to the guy who is as passionate about Ŧexas Ŧech as Ŧexas Ŧech is about Ŧexas Ŧech. Give Coach K a chance. Give Ŧexas Ŧech a chance. Coach K is our chance!

            As I have stated to many, Kingsbury will be fine following a firing. Many NFL and NCAA teams know about his offensive genius and are ready to pounce on hiring him. But, what about Ŧech? Who in their right mind will come here now? Any coach who is truly deserving of coaching at Raiderland will probably pass because of how erratically the university fires its coaches; without just cause and payment—as with Leach and without loyalty and patience—as with Kingsbury. Ŧech is going to draw from B-O-B: Bottom-of-the-Barrel. Or the next Ŧech coach is going to be reminiscent of Williams and Tuberville and use the Ŧech football program as a stepping stone. Coach Kingsbury would never have done anything intentional to hurt his alma mater. 

That's my peace. Forever #WreckEm #EverydayIAmARedRaider #LongLiveTheMatadors

Ŧexas Ŧech is the best in Ŧexas!

More About APA: Citing Multiple Authors, etc....

https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html

Purdue Owl

In-Text Citations: Author/Authors 

Summary:

APA (American Psychological Association) style is most commonly used to cite sources within the social sciences. This resource, revised according to the 6^th edition, second printing of the APA manual, offers examples for the general format of APA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the reference page. For more information, please consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, (6^th ed., 2^ndprinting).

APA style has a series of important rules on using author names as part of the author-date system. There are additional rules for citing indirect sources, electronic sources, and sources without page numbers.

Citing an Author or Authors

A Work by Two Authors: Name both authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses each time you cite the work. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

Research by Wegener and Petty (1994) supports...

(Wegener & Petty, 1994)

A Work by Three to Five Authors: List all the authors in the signal phrase or in parentheses the first time you cite the source. Use the word "and" between the authors' names within the text and use the ampersand in parentheses.

(Kernis, Cornell, Sun, Berry, & Harlow, 1993)

In subsequent citations, only use the first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

(Kernis et al., 1993)

In et al., et should not be followed by a period.

Six or More Authors: Use the first author's name followed by et al. in the signal phrase or in parentheses.

Harris et al. (2001) argued...

(Harris et al., 2001)

Unknown Author: If the work does not have an author, cite the source by its title in the signal phrase or use the first word or two in the parentheses. Titles of books and reports are italicized; titles of articles, chapters, and web pages are in quotation marks.

A similar study was done of students learning to format research papers ("Using APA," 2001).

Note: In the rare case the "Anonymous" is used for the author, treat it as the author's name (Anonymous, 2001). In the reference list, use the name Anonymous as the author.

Organization as an Author: If the author is an organization or a government agency, mention the organization in the signal phrase or in the parenthetical citation the first time you cite the source.

According to the American Psychological Association (2000),...

If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations.

First citation: (Mothers Against Drunk Driving [MADD], 2000)

Second citation: (MADD, 2000)

Two or More Works in the Same Parentheses: When your parenthetical citation includes two or more works, order them the same way they appear in the reference list (viz., alphabetically), separated by a semi-colon.

(Berndt, 2002; Harlow, 1983)

Authors With the Same Last Name: To prevent confusion, use first initials with the last names.

(E. Johnson, 2001; L. Johnson, 1998)

Two or More Works by the Same Author in the Same Year: If you have two sources by the same author in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year to order the entries in the reference list. Use the lower-case letters with the year in the in-text citation.

Research by Berndt (1981a) illustrated that...

Introductions, Prefaces, Forewords, and Afterwords: When citing an Introduction, Preface, Foreword, or Afterword in-text, cite the appropriate author and year as usual.

(Funk & Kolln, 1992)

Personal Communication: For interviews, letters, e-mails, and other person-to-person communication, cite the communicator's name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list.

(E. Robbins, personal communication, January 4, 2001).

A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the secondary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses.

Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above. Also, try to locate the original material and cite the original source.

Electronic Sources

If possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.

Kenneth (2000) explained...

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").

Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring and APA," n.d.).

Sources Without Page Numbers

When an electronic source lacks page numbers, you should try to include information that will help readers find the passage being cited. When an electronic document has numbered paragraphs, use the abbreviation "para." followed by the paragraph number (Hall, 2001, para. 5). If the paragraphs are not numbered and the document includes headings, provide the appropriate heading and specify the paragraph under that heading. Note that in some electronic sources, like webpages, people can use the "find" function in their browser to locate any passages you cite.

According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind over Matter section, para. 6).

Note: Never use the page numbers of webpages you print out; different computers print webpages with different pagination.

APA Papers: Quotes in an APA Paper . . . A.K.A. The Rule of Thumb

Have no or few direct quotations. I am interested in your thoughts, not your ability to embed others’ strings of words in your prose with quotation marks. When one quotes, I wonder, sometimes, whether the author understands the words at all. So try to paraphrase---restate in your own words. 

The rule of thumb:

25 words or fewer in quotation marks for every 500 words of your own prose.

Book of D: Blame the Dissonance Theory!

A tension or clash resulting from the combination of two disharmonious or unsuitable elements, this is the dictionary's definition of dissonance. However, in psychology the dissonance theory means something different but still derivative from the meaning of dissonance. The dissonance theory posits, when there is an inconsistency between attitudes or behaviors (dissonance), something must change to eliminate the dissonance. American social psychologist, Leon Festinger, is best known for the theory. Moreover, the cognitive dissonance theory asserts that there is a tendency for individuals to seek consistency among their cognitions (i.e., beliefs, opinions, mores, etc.). 
So, with that explanation out of the way, let's move on to a brief "her"story of the person, the muse for today's post. Not so much a story, but an account of a memory I have of her—always have—always will. 

My friend in college (let's just call her Nini) used to believe that she was the crème-de-la-crème when it came to intelligence. In short, she was narcissistic and thought she was the smartest person around. True story. She was reserved and introverted at times. Her downfall was that she seldom took time to get to know people. For example, we both belonged to a couple of academic groups on campus, but I seldom saw Nini reach out to any of the members first. They usually approached her. Nini belonged to both groups before me, but interestingly enough, she reached out to me first. Perhaps, it was the fact that I was older than her. Nini had this thing, or preference, about hanging out with older students. Anyway, back to the academic groups, Nini knew she had earned her right to be part of the groups, and she was chosen (elected) to be a leader for each respective club, so she did not feel like she needed to make herself more approachable. She was a nice person, don't get me wrong. I always enjoyed her company even though she had a tendency to be chatty and dominating over most of our discussions. One could say she monopolized conversations, but because I allowed her to do such a thing, I should just say that I take partial blame for allowing such actions. 

Anyhow, Nini could be really hard on people who hurt her or broke their promise to her. She held grudges, and I used to find it rather interesting and alarming, both. I felt sorry for the poor person on Nini's wrong side, but at the same time, I was glad I was on her good side just listening to her rants about those who crossed her. At times, I wondered if I would ever become one of those people on Nini's bad side. The more I got to know her, the more I wondered "when" not "if" I would end up on her bad side. When would I "fudg-ee-cate" [i.o.w. f*ck up] things up with her, because as smart as she was, she was equally lambasting about other people's faults. Never mind, she had plenty of her own fallibilities. 

She had this thing about putting people on pedestals and then waiting for the moment they could no longer hold up to her admirations and expectations, and she would dismantle said pedestal, like a pissed off person would purposely lose a game of Jenga. I will always remember the day I “fell from grace” in Nini’s eyes. Well, I guess it was that day. A better part of me feels that I had slowly been falling, so the day I was actually banished from the “House of Nini” was not the day she chose for me to be evicted and thrown to the outgroup ala persona non grata. I am certain she was just waiting for me to mess up again to permanently take away my torch. LOL. I have this gnawing feeling that someone else foolishly & contentiously (+ repugnantly 😆) encouraged her decision to break away. On the other hand,  maybe, just maybe, I was doing those significant and relevant things in order to get myself discarded from the house. Maybe I was ready to leave but unable to be the "bad guy." Who knows. Psychology is a paradox and trying to understand ourselves and others is enigmatic. Back to the raft . . . the weeks leading up to said removal, I was starting to feel like things were off somehow. I no longer felt warm nor welcome. I felt like an outlander, per se. Maybe I pushed Nini over the edge, somehow, to make the idea of banishment a reality, once and for all. No more waiting for the other shoe to drop. I would be relieved of nonsensical duties: high expectations and rare reciprocity.
Regardless of why Nini removed me from her life, I am sure she justified it in the end, which allowed her to move on with her life. I am good with that. It also allowed me to move on with my life. Do I wish she had not been so cruel and cold? Maybe. In the end, all I know is whatever or whoever caused her to finally decide that life was better without moi, well, that is all good. If it helped Nini to think that her life was better off sans me, then it is what it is. The dissonance my friendship was causing her needed to go away. She decided how and when it happened. Do I miss this crazy, egomaniacal mess of a person? Maybe/sometimes/I’m not sure. Tune in—in about a year.

Book of D: This is MY GETHSEMANE!

What is it that drives someone to do the vile, awful things he/she does? Is it truly due in part to the various theories of socialization? The idea that you are who you are because of where you grew up and/or because of who you grew up around? Well, that's a mouthful of legumes to take in, don't you agree? Further, a person's ability to subscribe to such ideologies is all dependent on whether the person allows him/herself to subscribe to the many different psychological/sociological theories of the likes of Piaget, Skinner, or Freud—or the various other so-called "experts." 
How we choose to learn and how we choose to live is, in my honest opinion, is a personal process—a deeply rooted idea embedded within ourselves, our psyche. If a person starts out in life being a selfish type of an asshole, chances are, that is the way the person will continue to live out his or her life. It's just his own fault of not wanting to own up to who he really is and how he sees the world. I really don't know. All I really know to this point is that I've been exposed to so many ideas, views, theories, hypotheses, and such as an undergrad psychology student. 

I'm still not sure what I believe, who I believe, and if I am going to go straight GDI and form my own ideas and such. Obtaining degrees in psychology and criminology, well, that doesn't really make me an "expert," now does it? Even when I attain my masters and doctorates, that won't make me an aficionado either. I'll tell you what all this does make me, with said degrees or sans, it just makes me plain ole h-u-m-a-n!
And, all I know is that I have been all victim, suspect, and culprit to many odious, foul events in life, and I still don't understand people. Nor do I understand why they do the bad and good things they do. Why they lie. Why they cheat. Why some are more prone to committing negative actions while others are more readily and able to subscribe towards the positive ones. Why do some people kill? Why do some people hurt others? Why are some people kind? … Quite the paradox, right?
The shitty things I have done to other people, the things I have never been able to admit to and ask forgiveness for, well, they are my shame. The lack of the ability to forgive others for the cruel things they have committed against me, that's partly on me. I really want to forgive fully, but I need them to admit the brutish things they have done to me, against me. In all seriousness, is this really too much to ask?
I just want to abolish the traces of hell I have pushed people into and the ones I have allowed myself to traipse into or been thrown into. I don't want to keep hurting others; moreover, I no longer wish to allow myself to be hurt by others. 
All this . . . all of this . . . this is my Gethsemane.

Book of D: The Reason for Friends

AN excellent day for friends. I woke up early today. I was able to accomplish a lot of things before I made my way to work. I even had time to read and get ahead of my reading assignments by an entire chapter. That's a huge feat because this class is fast-and-furious. I reached out to an old friend before I left the house. I have been in a good mood these past few months, and as I thought about my good mood, good health, and good fortune, I thought about this particular friend, so I decided to text her and see about getting together for dinner and drinks. She was part of the group of friends who traveled to Ft. Worth earlier this summer for a convention; it was a wonderful trip and event. Anyway...this person is fast becoming a great friend to my partner and myself. This friend, whom I shall now refer to as "Ellie," is extremely intelligent and generous. She is the type of person who is the first to arrive when someone needs aid of any kind and is the first one to ask, "what can I do?' She is also the last one to leave just in case there are last minute details to be addressed or aid to be provided. She recently had a tragedy occur in her own life. I won't go into detail about it. The tragedy is over now, and everyone affected is doing wonderfully. I am grateful for that fact. The roles reversed a bit recently My partner recently took ill. It was not a life-threatening ordeal, but still, it was a tribulation for us. I am extremely glad that my partner has recovered and that our friend Ellie was once again there for us. In my good mood and readiness to hang out with Ellie, I thought about how many people have been allowed to venture into my life. Some are still around, and they are valued. Some are no longer around, through their own freewill and accord; they are not entirely missed, but they did provide a sort of tutelage all their own. Life is tricky; a real paradox, but it is what it is. Friends like Ellie are the fruit of living a good life and trying to do good things for others. The others who are not around, well, they no longer matter--not really. There is a reason why people enter our lives. The people who chose to stay, they are the reason for friends.

Book of D: The Man at School

I arrived in the parking lot, looking for that prime spot; you know the one, the one that requires the road less traveled. Pardon the pun. Anyway, I was in a good mood as I approached the front doors of the university, where I have worked for over a year. I passed this one gentleman; he was wearing the dark blue uniform the maintenance workers wear. He was an older man with grey, curly hair sprawling from underneath the dirty-looking gray baseball cap he wore; the cap was slightly placed to one side--it looked like an unintentional way of wearing the cap. Not like a younger person would purposely wear it to show he/she was cool. This gentleman looked tired, thus, the manner in which he wore the ball cap was more happenstance than purposeful. I consider myself a friendly person. I also consider myself as having a great amount of confidence, so I tend to walk with my head held high, but I am always aware of others, so I make myself ready to greet others in a friendly manner. This gentleman was not having any of my friendly ways. He completely ignored me. He did look up one time as I was getting closer to him, but he looked back down to the can of Dr. Pepper he had on the concrete pony wall he was sitting on. I was not hurt by his lack of a greeting. I did not know him, after all, so it did me no harm either way. It was how his eyes glared at me that was more disconcerting than his ability to act like I was invisible. I was reminded of another gentleman, around this man's age, body type, and stature. This other gentleman had given up soda to better his health, so when I noticed the can of soda next to this maintenance worker's lap, I thought to myself, 'soda is so bad for you especially for someone your age.' What if this maintenance worker had the ability to read minds and knew the first thought that entered my head before I drew closer to where he was sitting down. Who knows. All I know is the feeling I had when I passed by him. I was sad. I wondered if he was sad. I entered through the front, glass-laden doors of the university and started towards the stairs. I quickly forgot the emotion of sadness the maintenance worker had brought out in me. I instead focused on the work I had to finish today. I just hope the man is doing okay. Maybe I should have made it a point to say hi to him instead of respecting what I thought was his right to be left alone. Maybe he was waiting for someone to ask him how he was doing.

Sport's Post: ALLEZ LES BLEUS! ALLEZ FRANCE! WORLD CUP 2018 CHAMPIONS!!!

20 Years Waiting . . . C'est fantastique!!!

BESPOKE: An Uncertain Life

Life emerges from love, sometimes. Other times, life just happens and no one really cares about the circumstances. I can vouch for myself that I was born of love. Perhaps, it was unplanned, but it was love nonetheless that brought me to this strange realm of the universe; this earth that is so polluted and convoluted. 
          No one really knows what is real or who is real. For all we know, every single person on said earth is fake. Everyone is out for his or her own benefit. Trying to attain the best that life has to offer regardless of who they hurt or what they have to do--even if the very thing robs the person of his or her very ethics and humanity. Life is harsh. Life is funny. Life is a mere calculation. Life is uncertain.

TEXAS DEMOCRATIC STATE CONVENTION 2018: The Party of the First Party!

So, here is my post now!

This trip took place in Fort Worth, Texas. All Democrats from the great state of Texas gathered for four glorious days in downtown Fort Worth, Ft. Worth Convention Center, for the 2018 Texas Democratic Convention. From Texas State Senate District 31, there were a bunch of us a'hootin and a'hollerinfolks; too many to name, so many towns to list all (check the link for the map of SD-31) but some of the areas we represented: Midland, Odessa, Big Spring, Amarillo, etc. 

Our first day in Fort Worth, we had dinner at the magnificent Mi Cocina (Downtown location). Dinner, drinks, and good banter with wonderful friends (Sara, Joyce, Estella) and fellow delegates to the Convention. (See Convention schedule here)

Our second day in Fort Worth, we began the primary convention with many caucuses, including our very own Senate District Caucus, where we voted on different platforms and representatives to the different Texas State Democratic Committees. Later that night, we all bought tickets for Beers With Beto. Beto O'Rourke (D) is the current U.S. Rep (16th Congressional District, El Paso). He is running against Ted Cruz for the U. S. Senate.

Our third day, the last day of the Convention, we met different politicians, and the General Session began. It is an interesting process. This was our second time as delegates to the State Convention. Being a UTPB Student Senator (voted in for a second Academic Term), this convention added to the myriad of things I have learned (e.g. rules, protocols, and processes one must follow via Robert's Rules of Order, etc.) It is all such a beautiful process: legislation and politics! I was so excited and humbled to be able to partake in this State Convention, once again, as a delegate. By the way, state delegates have to be voted in as delegates by their respective political party/county constituency, so it makes the honor that much greater. Later that Saturday night, we even went to the Rodeo Goat (an excellent college dive near TCU) for my birthday dinner and to the Fort Worth Water Gardens to cap off the extraordinary day/night. 

Sunday, our fourth and final day, we took it easy. We stopped off at the Fort Worth Whole Foods Market, and we had lunch in Abilene before our arrival to the Tall City -so that was good. 😁 Pix are in randomized order ... enjoy!

 

   

 

          

    

 

 

The Indomitable Wendy Davis (her Twitter feed)
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Taco Diner for dinner at the hip/posh Fort Worth Sundance Square
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The Rodeo Goat for my birthday celebration
(after the end of the General Session of the Convention)
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The Fort Worth Water Gardens (après le b-day dinner)
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