Ken the person (This is me as a butterfly teaching "politicks.")

     Beyond my professional life I am the proud father of Nicole. I am also the (very) happy husband of Sandra Benavides Collier, apple of my eye, mother of my child, and a fine pharmacist at M&S Pharmacy in Nacogdoches.
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     I am the proud owner of Lilian laFleur Collier, born April 20, 2007, joined us in the summer of 2007. Teddy Roosevelt Collier (The Bully Puppy) was born September 6, 2000 and protected us as much as 4 pounds of Yorke can until October 1, 2009. Before Teddy, Spike looked after us March 6, 1990 until December 19, 2003.
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      I also have a fine selection of friends. There's a nice photo of me and James Lowry at a Texans game or Robert Allen at his surprise birthday party. You can see me and John Calabrese at the White House or young Tony Nownes singing to Spike. You can see King Dixon and his buddy Spike or Pat Warren tossing around Nicole. Matt Grice, my old partner in web mastery, is now living a happy and productive life despite the best efforts of Gulf hurricanes.

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My favorite television viewing includes The Simpsons and King of the Hill. I also like some of the "Adult Swim" lineup on the Cartoon Network. I also enjoy the Daily Show and Colbert Report. Nicole and I like watching Mythbusters together.

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    In my remaining spare time I humor myself by growing bonsai trees and collecting White House Memorabilia, campaign buttons, snowdomes, stereoscopic slides, or other bits of America's glorious past. I've just started building my own little salute to the historic site that is Six Flags over Texas.

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     Growing up, my baseball hero was Bob Aspromonte. My dog Spike was named after Spike Owen the baseball player. These days I generally prefer minor league baseball. Nicole and I recommend the The Grand Paririe Air Hogs, Round Rock Express (especially the cheesesteaks from Texadelphia in Right Field) and the Frisco Rough Riders. In the major league, the Texas Rangers and the Washington Nationals are our favorites.

     My favorite music at the moment includes Public Enemy, Aerosmith, Offspring, The Beastie Boys, RUN DMC, Brave Combo, and Polka legend Frank Yankovic.
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One of my favorite comic/graphic novel artitists Chris Ware has finally reached a national audience with his new book. Peanuts, it aint. Hugh MacLeod was another contributor to that amazing collection of talent that ran amok while at the University of Texas.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . While I was at the University of Texas, I was also lucky enough to see the early "work" of Berke Breathed. After his UT strip "Academia Waltz," he went on to produce Bloom County and Outland. Today, I'm reading his more recent books to my daughter. UT also produced Sam Hurt while I was there. I still enjoy his Eyebeam and Queen of the Universe strips.

Other Favorite Things

	Candorville Definitely, an overlooked treasure written by Darrin Bell (a political science major).
Pearls Before Swine a cartoon by Stephan Pastis (another political science major).
	Get Fuzzy       One of the funniest talking cat cartoons available today.
Baby Blues Either you get it or you don't
	Keith Knight is the best cartoonist you (probably) haven't heard about yet. He's the creator of The K Chonicles, Think, and The Knight Life.
When Nixon Met Elvis I'm not a fan of Nixon or Elvis, but something about the two of them together...
	Mutts "exactly what a comic strip should be" Charles Schulz
Rose is Rose A little humor, a little wisdom...
	Brewster Rockit by Tim Rickard Kind of a cross between Flash Gordon and George of the Jungle

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In the 90s...
    Between my years teaching in the political science department at the University of Kansas and my arrival at Stephen F. Austin I worked for the KU Athletic Department where I designed their web page, fixed their computers, and took a few pictures. For a few highlights check out my KU Sports Photo Album.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . In the 80s...
     I had a brief but highly unprofitable career as a photographer while in graduate school. Follow this link to see why. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In 60s...
My childhood was happy but ordinary. Here are a few photos from my early years.



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