Thursday, January 20, 2005

Some Background

My Dad went to Yale; George Bush went to Yale; John Kerry went to Yale. They all turned up different, that's for sure. One thing all three would agree is that the Yale Glee Club was the "big mack daddy" back then. Yup, the Wiffenpoofs, an all-male singing club, a capella, barbershop-style. Quite a history there.

Well I went to University of Texas in Austin and then Southwest in San Marcos for my master's and no way am I fixated on Yale. I can't sing worth a hoot either and frankly I don't like their swag. I just liked the transposition of Wiffenpoofs to "Poof'n'whiffs." If you have a nose for detecting bullshit or genuine nugets of occassional spastic truth, well maybe Poof'n'Whiffs might be a cool place to stop by every now and then.

Over the next year or so I'll be making - just maybe - the transition from Austin down to South Padre Island in Texas. That ought to be fun, although I'm not looking forward to painting, cleaning, packing, driving 6-7 hours several times, unpacking, and so forth. But I'm no mountain man, I'm more of a surfer dude, and I liked what I saw down there. Hey it's one of the last semi-unspoiled beaches in America.

As Frank Zappa once said in his 'Mudshark' song, you can open your window and catch fish at the proverbial Edgewater Inn. If you don't like artists like Zappa and like the Wiffenpoofs better, well, I tried. Poof'n'whiffs don't do politics, sex, sports, national commentary, satire, and humor, but when mixed all together in one big melting pot it ought to be sorta fun.

OK, exaggeration is good sometimes but there's no window fishing on South Padre and Zappa was a little tough to digest, but having fun along the way is exactly what I intend to do. I see a bongo band in the future, too. The Poof'n'Whiffs, of course.

Dark Clouds on the horizon: the wife is whiffing skeptical!

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