TQ's Top 15 IG Posts of '15

I'm @tomqu on Instragram. These aren't the most liked posts, or even the best quality, but they are my favorites. [past years: 2014, 2013]
 
#15

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Feb 26, 2015 at 8:22pm PST

 

#14

Will you be there for me?

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Jun 26, 2015 at 9:50pm PDT

#13

What gives this joke bonus points? This random number was acquired in Nashville. #MasterOfNone

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Dec 2, 2015 at 9:58pm PST

#12

@conoraltier @patrickowtf @lessavydav @bonobos (in the background) #UTU2TM #GivingBonoTheBusiness

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Jun 29, 2015 at 9:32pm PDT

#11

Profile of a Pig #JuanJamon

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Mar 21, 2015 at 2:26am PDT

#10

#truedetective

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Jul 20, 2015 at 11:33pm PDT

#9

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Jan 19, 2015 at 1:24pm PST

#8

chill crew

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Jun 12, 2015 at 9:52pm PDT

#7

Dogs on parade. #NRAshow #NeedForFeed #PlateYourFate

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on May 16, 2015 at 2:28pm PDT

#6

Shadow of a fellow concert goer

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Oct 7, 2015 at 6:02pm PDT

#5

My scrapbook that keeps track/count of which concerts I see

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Sep 28, 2015 at 11:23pm PDT

#4

My favorite photo project grew to 47 entires this week. #bowlingpin

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Aug 29, 2015 at 8:24am PDT

#3

Repost @northwoodsbynw ・・・ Reflecting on our NxNW5 show last week... The next experience is June 3. NxNW6 for your comedy fix at Northwoods Lounge.

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on May 26, 2015 at 3:50pm PDT

#2

Metaphor for my fucking life

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Mar 14, 2015 at 4:23pm PDT

#1

Damen at Dawn

A photo posted by TQ (@tomqu) on Dec 10, 2015 at 5:04am PST

TQ's Top 10 IG posts (plus 4 videos) of 2014

Last year I shared my personal Top 13 IG pictures from 2013 and here's to another year of what is becoming my favorite social network:

10) Lone Detective

I loved True Detective, and the beer it featured

9) Social Butterfly

Notes from my Dad's "Internet Class" at the library

8) Hops n' Heels

It's a Schlitz in a shoe

7) Highlight of my day

This is how I amuse myself

6) Bey of Pigs

(see previous caption)

5) Civic Pride

I live in this city

4) Juan Jamón

Representing the entire "Juan Jamón" photo project

3) Bowling Pin

South Carolina was the 9th state to host my Bowling Pin

2) Achieving Friendship

Achievers Kenny (from Georgia) and Shayna (from Tennessee) reconnect at the 13th Annual Lebowski Fest (in Kentucky)

1) Great Parenting

My cousin holding up his daughter for a better view of the first concert of her life

Top 4 Instagram Videos:

This year I tried to get better at the video side of Instagram. Although I hesitate at taking much credit for these when it is just me "paying attention while watching TV" for some of the video captures. I haven't figured out how to embed IG video, but I hope my description is tempting enough to click the links.

4) While just a simple video capture of a display of ebullience on Review, it was great to see that Andy Daly himself was the first to like it!

3) When a sad Georgetown fan was very sad

2) Facebook is awful

1) This Kingpin Detective mashup should have gone viral

Ya Follow? (my 13 favorite tweets of 2013)

I like writing dumb jokes on Twitter. Here are some of them:

 

What Are My Favorite 13 IG Photos of '13?

This morning I went to Statigram to download my Instagram stats (h/t to Internet Stranger Sara) to see which of my photos gathered the most Likes. Since I didn't agree with the results, here are my personal 13 favorite IG photos* from 2013.

*All concert-related photos were excluded from rankings

13) #OfficePig

This year my company moved me from Seafood to Pork. We'll see where they move me next year.

12)  Wedding Work

My sister was a Maid of Honor this past summer. She believes this is the most illustrative picture I took that day.

11) #SadBanana

Taken outside my suburban condo. Much was left behind in suburbia this year.

10)  Creative Wrappers

I look forward to showing Jillian (who turned 5) this in the future to see if she will laugh. Odds are: not as much as I did.

9) #HipsterMom

My friend's mom, at one of his Improv shows, completely owning this look. Note: I supplied the PBR.

8)  Inflatable Intrigue

I spend a lot of time at the birthday parties of children nowadays. Moments to capture are always available.

7)  Riding Birdy

My Godson Matthew took me to my first Cardinals game. Luckily he's too young to remember a postseason heartbreak.

6) Chase with Caution

I often use IG to make jokes. The quality is usually suspect.

5) Eight is Not Enough

My Bowling Pin found its way to it's eighth state this year. And many photo collage apps found their way into my phone.

4) Bridge Reflections

A surprising amount of people liked this photo on IG. If I had known, I would've taken more time to frame it better.

3) My New Private Residence

A gigantic moment for me personally.

2) Empty Glass

Can you believe I've had no formal training? Brew Fest should pay me.

1) #MarriageEquality

If I was famous, this image would've been on coffee mugs everywhere. Very proud it got my most likes from strangers.

Can you dance like nobody* is watching? (*ALL OF YOUTUBE)

Pardon me while I embed three of my favorite videos of people dancing. I just want to have all this wonderfulness in one place for when I need to smile, and dream, and believe, and hope, and know that there is level of self confidence in this world that will always match the stiffing unrelenting pressures of the society around us.

When did I fall in love with Jimmy Butler?

Jimmy Butler

Wesley Matthews

(in a very odd Today's Quiz first - I'm reposting what I wrote on my Fantasy NBA League's message board)

I fell in love with Jimmy Butler on February 17, 2009.

As many in this league know, nothing makes me cheer louder than the basketball team from Marquette University. It is where I went to school and where I had the pleasure of seeing nearly every Dwyane Wade home game of his career. I've been making the hour plus drive to Milwaukee multiple times every year for the past ten plus years.

On February 17, 2009 I saw a lazy win over Seton Hall. The (then ranked #10) team was led in scoring by Wesley Matthews with 24 points, but the takeaway memory for me was seeing Jimmy Butler slam down an ally-oop tossed from half court. I had only seen Butler play once before, he spent his freshman year at a Junior College and was reguluated to the deep bench behind an upperclassman heavy roster. That night he became my favorite player on my favorite team. A spot he never relinquished until his final game for Marquette.


I didn't think Wesley Matthews would make an NBA roster the following season in 2010, and although I loved the hustle I saw that 2009 night from Butler - I would've called you clinically insane if you told me Jimmy Butler would find his way into the Chicago Bulls starting lineup in under four years. When Matthews started flourishing early into his rookie season in Utah, I was able to pick him up in our Fantasy League because nobody was watching his box scores closer.  Again, even though I was over thrilled with Butler being drafted from my hometown favorite in 2011 - I didn't think I'd be repeating the same gesture.

And then we have tonight... The first time I was able to play Jimmy Butler in my starting fantasy lineup, where he shot an impressive 7-10 from the floor to yield a career high 19 points (and 6 rebounds).  I didn't get to see this game, for I was again in Milwaukee watching my beloved college hoops squad.  And even though the game featured a player scoring a career high 30 points, it was another player that made me smile.

Steve Taylor Jr.

Someday I hope to have Steve Taylor Jr. on my fantasy team. You'll never hear this anyplace else in your life, but you're hearing it here first. This freshman from Chicago's Simeon High School (he wears #25 for MU, which I owe my knowledge of its significance to the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary "Benji") is the next NBA player that Marquette will produce.

Today was a good day to be a fan of basketball.

P.S.
Yes, I ordered my Jimmy Butler Shrtsey online already, and I just couldn't wait until I received it to write this post!

What's your band name?

I have zero musical talent - but if talent existed I would go by the following stage names:

Fictitious EP cover

Dance Music DJ: DISCO'TINUED
Singer/Songwriter: Cassanova Jones
Indie Rock Band: Beautiful Noise Rock
Radiohead Tribute: Karma PD
Beardy Folk: The Plurals
Techno Pop: Keystroke Anarchy Epiphany
Vegas Lounge Act: Max Thomas
Crappy Suburban Cover Band: Heart to the Shot
Comedy Hip-Hop: T&A
Jam Band: Kick Ass Summer

Is it a New Era?

Back when I blogged on MySpace I wrote a post titled, "I Am A Golfer Today" (I moved it over to Blogger, but it was originally written on Sunday May 4, 2008).   I'm now in my fourth year of golfing and have made more progress in the four weeks of this young season than I have in the previous three years.  In the spirit of assigning credit where it's unwarranted, I present to you a history of my golfing headwear:

obviously not a golfer (Straw Hat 2008)

I really loved getting my Straw Hat.  I wore that hat for every round of golf in 2008 & 2009.  Yes, it was a joke - as was my game.  But I wasn't trying to make a joke of myself out there - on the golf course.  I've always been a huge fan of activity based haberdashery.  I like to wear a headband during basketball, a cap for softball, visor for poker, and I thought a straw hat for golf.


In 2010 I ditched the Straw Hat.  It had deteriorated to a significant degree, but I no longer wanted to be known as the guy in the straw hat.  Because I feel most comfortable playing cards, I went with the visor route.  My game continued to struggle.

unchecked aggression (Visor 2010)

This past March, in Las Vegas, for the first time I played cards without my usual costume armor of visor / shades / earphones and had the greatest success of my career.  Call it what you will: Being more comfortable and confident / maturing / accumulated experience finally retaining what I've been learning...  The same rules apply to why I decided to ditch the visor for golf as well.

While watching The Masters I noticed an overwhelming majority of the golfers wore caps.  I thought to myself, why not? and picked up one of the finest golf caps money can buy.  I'm not sure what it's called but it's one of those Titleist by New Era Tour Sport Cap Flex Fitted models.  It's the most comfortable hat I've ever had on my head by a huge margin.

Golf Hat 2011

A friend, who had been golfing with me for over 2 years, quickly commented that it looked very odd to see me with clubs in a cap.  I told him that it was a new year and I'm trying something new.

This is also the first golf season when I decided to not sign up for more golf lessons.  And I also won't be buying any more clubs (like how I bought that expensive Driver everybody wants to have two years ago).  But I did splurge for the fancy cap, and I've never had buyers remorse like I've had with every other golf related purchase.

No golf scores will be posted until I only need two digits to type them, however I'm more than happy to share scores verbally when asked.  It's been a very soap operatic relationship: Golf and I, but it's one that's going to continue.

Did your April Fools gag yield any results?

If there's one thing you can depend on in this world, it's that you can always count on someone to read a Facebook post out of context.  I hope you all had a non-annoying April Fools Day.  I'm pretty sure I survived without a scratch.

You see here what I did.  I had a fear in the back of my mind that it would turn into something bound for the someecards blog, but thankfully nobody took the opportunity to post a viciously cruel response.

When I saw my Aunt "like" the relationship change I knew I had to act quickly before she got the family phone tree working overtime to plan the next Family Reunion.  Although, I probably should have held out until getting a call from my Dad.  I can hear it now:

"I heard you got engaged on Face Page?"

Are you a "comedy nerd?"

Much like Music Snobs there are a flock of people called Comedy Nerds.  While some people (like me) don't necessarily like being called Music Snobs, most Comedy Nerds are proud of the label.  Here are a few traits:

• They know not only who tell the jokes, but also who writes them
• They are interested in influences of comics
• They are interested in "comic trees" (i.e. Writers of 1 specific show that have branched out)
• They consume hour long comedy podcasts in massive quantities

There are more traits.  I can't exactly list them because I think I'm a Comedy Nerd in training.  It's become a new passion of mine.  How did this all get started?  For me at least?

I got into Kevin Pollak's Chat Show.  My obsession with KPCS has been documented.  That podcast (that flirted with a pay option, but is free again) really got me interested in the process of comedy.  I found the specific paths of comics extremely interesting whether it be from training at Second City, Upright Citizens Brigade or from hitting the road as a Stand Up.  Or, and this is a very legitimate theory, I just enjoy conversations that involve funny people.

Regardless, here are the comedy podcasts I listen to every week. (Note that every one, as of February 2011, is free to download from the iTunes Music Store):

• Kevin Pollak's Chat Show: It's video.  It's also the most well produced and "professional looking" of all the podcasts I subscribe to.  It's Charlie Rose with humor and profanity.  Episodes usually run close to two hours each - posted weekly.
• The Nerdist: The more established comic of the three is Chris Hardwick (the other two hosts are Jonah Ray & Matt Mira).  The show is much less interview-y and more conversational.  The easiest way to describe it would be to call it, "A conversation you wish would also involve you."  They are posting two episodes a week (one featuring a guest).
• Comedy Death-Ray Radio: This is Scott Aukerman's podcast.  Knowing that name is a good litmus test of whether or not you are a comedy nerd.  The man was a writer on The Larry Sanders Show and Mr. Show.  I didn't know this, and it kept me from listening to this podcast for the longest time.  Mr. Aukerman has since formed Ear Wolf studios, which records many podcasts and runs a very popular stand up comedy show in LA by the same name.  The show is about 90 minutes every week, and is the closest of all these listed as an original radio program with recurring games and characters.
• WTF with Marc Maron: Could me the most famous of the genre, or most well respected.  The best blend between "interview" and "conversation" you'll find in comedy podcasts.  It's also the most raw, unfiltered, talk you'll hear.
• Sklarbro County: If you ever liked Cheap Seats from ESPN Classic's past - you need to listen to this show.  A lot of sports story-related  comedy, but also consistently has funny guests.
• Doug Loves Movies:I'm listing this last only because I think it's the most difficult to explain.  A bunch of stand up comics tangentially talk about movies, play something called "the Leonard Maltin Game" and rif jokes throughout.

Not listed is Jimmy Pardo's "Never Not Funny" and "Pod F. Tomkast" by Paul F. Tompkins.  I'm not saying that those two are not funny, but I'm not listing them in the above list only because I'm not currently subscribing to them...  But I know people that listen to, and enjoy, both of them.

Long story short: if you're looking to fill 6-9 hours of your week listening to funny people - check these out.  I recommend scanning past episodes to pick a show featuring a guest you already know to start.