The International House of Bacon

Books:

Fray - Joss Whedon: The Buffy comic had Fray show up, so I wanted to reread this. Still love it. That is all.

This Tragic Gospel - Louis Ruprecht: A new way of looking at the Gospel of John in comparison to the Gospels of Luke and Mark. One of the notes he made was how John has changed the way Jesus is interpreted, and away from how the story of Jesus, especially in regards to the Garden of Gethsemane. Essentially, that John’s Jesus moves the concept of Christ away from struggle and compassion and toward a “god of all things” mentality (my words, not Ruprecht’s). A really interesting way to look at it, and I do recommend the book if you find this sort of religious debate interesting.

Thunderer - Felix Gilman: So many blogs raved about this book. Honestly? It had its moments, but I did have to struggle through it a bit. Sort of a mystical version of The Lies of Locke Lamora in a way, but hardly close to the best fantasy book I’ve picked up in recent memory.

The Wordy Shipmates - Sarah Vowell: Sarah Vowell is best when she’s not getting holier than thou on modern topics and instead just throwing her flair on the stuff she’s talking about. So, with that in mind, the first 80 pages of this were painful, but it did end up redeeming itself by the end. But, again, Vowell could write about grass growing and I’d be interested.

Multireal - David Louis Edelman: The Jump 225 trilogy may be my favorite current science fiction offering. If you’re not reading these books, you’re missing out - it’s the perfect combination of silly tech stuff, plot, and action. LOVE it.

The Best of The Spirit: I took this out before I learned how much of a trainwreck the movie ended up being. Honestly, I can’t imagine seeing the movie after reading this, because The Spirit clearly was something special.

A Few Seconds of Panic - Stefan Patsis: Sportswriter decides to try and be a kicker for the Denver Broncos and spends training camp with them. Absolutely riveting from beginning to end, and possibly the closest any of us will get to seeing the inside of a modern NFL training camp. Very cool book.

Death From the Skies - Phil Plait: Apocalypse scenarios FTW. Great science read, something I rarely read enough of.

Too Fat to Fish - Artie Lange: I don’t know why I continue to read autobiographies and expect them to be different than what they are. In Artie Lange’s case, I really don’t care too much about him one way or the other, but I saw it on the shelf at the library and said “why not?” I mean, on the occasion I listen to Stern on Sirius, I get it - he’s a drunk who likes cocaine and heroin. I don’t really need to read about it, I guess. But I’m sure I’ll get sucked in again.

Sin City Vol 1 - Frank Miller: So I loved Sin City the movie. The book? Well…yeah, no. Just didn’t do a thing for me.

Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) - Tom Vanderbilt: A really crazy fascinating book about the psychology of driving, the sociology behind traffic patterns and roads and all the stuff that surrounds it. A bit longish, but it’s got so much fun information that you can’t ultimately leave it alone.

Parenting Beyond Belief: A series of essays about atheists raising children. Like any essay book, some of it was good and some of it I could have done without. It was more interesting to read about how these parents handle death or Santa rather than the universalism angles.

Supreme Courtship - Christopher Buckley: Chris Buckley’s usually awesome. This book was just okay, about a TV judge getting appointed to the Supreme Court. It’s no Boomsday, but still a fun diversion.

Flight: Volume One: Short comics with flight as the theme. I’ll pick up the next volume sometime, but I’m in no rush. If that makes any sense.

Evil Genius - Catherine Jicks: A YA book I’ve spent too long eying and not enough reading. A story about an evil genius child who gets sent to evil genius school. Of course, things aren’t as they seem, etc etc. Really fun read.

Movies:

Ghost in the Shell: I didn’t like it. At all. Sorry. d:-/

Star Trek: The Motion Picture: I love Star Trek. I was more of a ST:TNG nerd than Star Wars growing up, my default “What famous fictional character would you be” was consistently Q, etc. With the JJ Abrams reboot coming out, I told Ann (who has little Star Trek knowledge) that we’d go through the movies, at least. We, uh, didn’t finish this one. Yes, yes, the whole odd-numbered thing (we’re trying Khan soon), but this movie is long in parts, and while I was enjoying it, the 4 minute 2001-esque unveiling of the Enterprise was a little ridiculous. So yeah. Still looking forward to KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

The Promotion: An uncomfortably funny movie with John C. Reilly and Stifler. I definitely recommend it, but it might not be for everybody, because it’s a very subtle funny.

UHF: Yes, the “Weird Al” Yankovic movie. I mean, it was fun. But Ann (and her brothers, for that matter) have this unholy bond with it. I dunno.

An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder: I could listen to Kevin Smith talk for hours. I guess that’s why these DVDs exist. Not quite as fun as the first one, but he can’t riff on Prince for 45 minutes every time out.

It feels like the only thing I get to read from a lot of conservative blogs since Obama’s election is how the conservative movement is in shambles, how the Republican Party has lost its way, etc. I was in the boat for a few days, and while there is some regrouping that needs to be done, I think those on the right who are in dire straits - and those on the left who are rubbing their hands together - need to take a step back a bit. Things aren’t so bad, and this is why:

1) Conservatism Generally Isn’t Trendy: I say “generally” because Ronald Reagan largely bucked this trend. Even then, the trendiness of Reagan had as much to do with how ineffectual Carter was as the reality of Reagan as one of the great communicators. But, generally speaking, conservatism isn’t trendy. It’s an ideas-based, values-based ideology, and one that resonates best when sticking to its principles. I’ll come back to that point, but contrast it with the Obama campaign that generated, purposefully or not, a cult of personality complete with art and songs and what have you. No matter how good your ideas are, you’re going to have a lot of trouble beating a fad, and that’s the type of buzzsaw that the Republican Party and the conservative movement ran into this year. After all, for comparison, Kid A came out in 2000, but N’Sync’s No Strings Attached is still the highest selling debut week in history from that same year - sometimes the superior doesn’t always resonate.

2) Barack Obama Can’t Run Every Year: I have to highlight this following the Georgia run-off and the results of the Minnesota Senate race - with Barack Obama on the ballot, Democrats will do better as a result. In Georgia, Saxby Chambliss couldn’t pull a majority. When Obama’s not there to boost turnout? A massive swing. On the same token, in Minnesota, Franken never polled as well as Obama in Minnsesota, it’s difficult to imagine that he’d come close to Coleman if there wasn’t something else to boost Democratic turnout. The true test of this will be in 2010, of course - granted, one can’t expect the trend of the White House party in power to be bucked again like it was in 2002 with Bush, but the likelihood of Democrats getting an extra 4-6% of downticket support is unlikely in 2010. 2012 might be a different story altogether, but it’s obviously too soon to see how the left will ultimately react to an Obama Presidency.

3) We’re Still Center-Right as a Nation: As much as I’d like to say that Obama’s waffling on Iraq and taxes is evidence of this, we have more significant evidence than that: even with Obama’s apparent mandate, the electorate doesn’t agree with his original positions on issues such as drilling or the death penalty, not even touching moral issues. The reality is that the conservative or even center point of view is more like to win out today, and the demographics are trending toward that as well - young people overwhelmingly want to be able to opt out of Social Security, and, to use a Presidential poll, the investor class (defined as folks who have more than $5000 invested in stocks) trend conservative/Republican. A majority of Americans own stock today, and if you invest, you’re more likely to vote conservative/Republican. We elected a hardline liberal into the White House this year, and elected some hardline liberals into the House and Senate. This isn’t evidence of a shifting electorate as much as what appears to be a unique circumstance.

4) Conservatives Can Win as Conservatives, Not as Centrists: We saw this happen a bit during the special elections between 2006 and 2008 - squishy, centrist (if not left-leaning) Republicans against Blue Dog Democrats, Republicans are going to fail. The plus side to the losses in 2006 by the Republicans was the way many of the Republicans who lost were ones Republicans could afford to lose in the long term. While it’s hard to say whether any conservative could have won against Obama in the Fall 2008 political climate, running a guy who’s spent most of his Senate career annoying conservatives may not have been the brightest move.

This isn’t to say there aren’t some marketing issues to be addressed, or that the Democrats haven’t possibly made some strides, but I do think things are better than they look.

Sure, there’s some 2009s in here, but I’m about 2 months backed up. I spent

* Bill Richardson is out at Commerce. First, how did he get dumped before Rahm Emanuel? Second, I think this will ultimately clear him as the investigation goes forward, but between this and Emanuel and the Senate seat kerfluffle and Sonal Shah and Norman Hsu and possibly RFK Jr and possibly Hillary Clinton, this isn’t off to an, uh, audacious start… Related: Cato’s blog on the reality of Obama’s “not-so-centrist” cabinet. This isn’t wacky libertarian bombthrowing, either - give it a look.

* Some applause for Obama, however - tax cuts are a good idea right now, even if it’s a pittance. Hey, Wall Street Journal - 5% of revenues over the course of an entire stimulus package isn’t “huge.” Not to mention that most of it will likely be negated when Obama and the Democrats fail to renew key portions of the Bush tax cuts from 2001. Related: Increasing government spending on infrastructure will not fix the economy by Randy Mott.

* The whole Israel/Palestine thing heating up again is interesting to watch, and I’m of about a dozen minds about it. Power Line, however, demonstrates how the press is handling this. I can’t say I’m incredibly surprised. Regardless, here’s to a quick and decisive outcome.

* Some fact-checking regarding how many jobs are tied to the auto industry.

* Is the Employee Free Choice Act unconstitutional?

* Reasons why I dislike George W. Bush - he was one of the biggest regulators of recent history. In a lot of ways, the only people who misunderstand history worse than Bush and his administration at this stage are Obama and his incoming staff, sadly. Related: Reason on Obama’s job fetish.

* Also related to above, more short-sighted regulation. A knee-jerk reaction to the smattering of toy recalls a couple years back could end up sinking a great deal of businesses as a result. Dumb, dumb, DUMB. Thanks to Jana for this one.

* I enjoyed this quote from Roger Kimball, crossposted everywhere: “The next time someone bemoans the evil of “laissez-faire capitalism” to you, utter the number 69,428. That’s the number of pages in the 2006 edition of the Federal Register, the official government compendium of rules and regulations, the handy-dandy list of things you must do, and not do, if you want to do . . . well, just about anything.” There’s a longer post about how regulatory structures got us into this mess somewhere, but I don’t know when I’ll get to it.

* Speaking of myths, it ain’t going to be the military that ultimately bankrupts us, but health care. And it’s not going to be the costs of it that we pay, but the governmental outlays. And yet we’re supposed to trust the government to run health care better?

* Vicki Iseman is suing the New York Times for defamation in response to the completely ridiculous story that so many people ran with that implied a romantic relationship between her and John McCain. On one hand, I wish this had happened sooner, but on the other, better late than never.

* Bush’s relationships with the troops. There’s plenty to dislike about him, but this was pretty incredible to read.

* Finally, a great interview with Sarah Palin in Human Events. Explains quite a bit. I am definitely crossing my fingers for 2012.

…as you now know someone officially listed on the IMDb.

Congrats again to Chelsea, who made the excellent and successful Mystery of the Missing Matron. Very neat.

I can’t say this was the best year for media consumption. No movies blew me away from this year, the music was great in many areas, but no real classics, and I probably enjoyed television and books more than my old standby vices. Regardless…

Top Ten in Music:

1) R.E.M. - Accelerate: I have absolutely zero shame whatsoever in listing this here this year. None whatsoever. Yes, R.E.M. is my favorite band, and I’ve been one of the few (American, at least) fans who’ve enjoyed their recent output. With that said, was Accelerate a return to form? Did it rock pretty hard? Were the songs among the best they’ve written in the last 12-15 years? Yes to all of these in my mind. I was addicted for months when it came out, and I put it back in this past week and can’t get enough. I can’t wait to see what turns up next.

2) She & Him - Volume One: Zooey Deschanel singing like a 60s pop star? I’ll take it. I didn’t expect this to be as great as it ended up being - “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here” is amazing on its own, but the whole album is a really fun, different thing. The novelty of it being an actress singing certainly helps its lot a bit, but I’d like to think the reception would be the same even without that added wrinkle. Highly recommended.

3) Vampire Weekend- Vampire Weekend: Overexposure doesn’t lessen reality - this album is solid, and is one of the best of the year period. Sure, the backlash is insane and they’re unlikely to keep it up long term, but every song on the first album is a winner. The only downside is that you’ve heard them all a million times.

4) Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue: R.E.M. aside, this is probably the album I listened to the most this year. A different feel than Rabbit Fur Coat, although probably not a better album, my only problem with the album is that I really wish the Rilo Kiley output was this good.

5) Kathleen Edwards - Asking for Flowers: Does Kathleen Edwards essentially make the same album over and over? Yeah, I suppose that might be true. This might be the best of them, though - half of the album is significantly memorable, the songs more musically interesting. She’s one of my favorite performers at this point, so it’s great to not only not be let down, but to continue to see solid albums come around. I can’t wait for the concert in February.

6) Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson - Rattlin’ Bones: A bluegrassy effort from Australian country-esque singer and her husband. Not a bad song in the bunch, and both a surprising and not surprising effort from Chambers, who i’ve enjoyed for a while now.

7) Marnie Stern - This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That : I haven’t said much of anything about this album this year, mostly because no one I know tends to like this kind of music. It’s very clashy and noisy, but there’s also something very visceral and almost danceable about it as well. Here’s “Transformer,” one of the more accessable tracks from the album - she’s a very impressive musician, but it’s clearly not the most ear-friendly stuff at times. Either way, the album is quite the achievement.

8) Fujiya & Miyagi - Lightbulbs: Another reliable band - yes, their songs are similar, but they’re also always great. I have nothing bad to say about this album at all, a great, great time.

9) Vivian Girls - Vivian Girls: Some ultra lo-fi rock. The album isn’t even 30 minutes long, but it’s noisy and harmonic and reminds me a lot of music from 10 years ago. Worth a listen.

10) Death Cab for Cutie - Narrow Stairs: While I do like Death Cab’s Barsuk offerings more than the more recent output, I think this is quite possibly their most even-handed and cohesive output. “I Will Possess Your Heart” is one of the best songs of the year.

Other Highlights:

Portishead - Third
The Watson Twins - Fire Songs
Okkervil River - The Stand-Ins
Martha Wainwright - I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too
Bloc Party - Intimacy
Of Montreal - Skeletal Lamping
The Baseball Project - Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
Conor Oberst - Conor Oberst
The Hold Steady - Stay Positive
Old 97s - Blame it On Gravity

Ten Favorite Songs:

What Made Milwaukee Famous - “Sultan”
Kathleen Edwards - “I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory”
Okkervil River - “Lost Coastlines”
R.E.M. - “Man-Sized Wreath”
Vampire Weekend - “Oxford Comma”
Switches - “Drama Queen”
Death Cab for Cutie - “I Will Possess Your Heart”
Oppenheimer - “Look Up”
David Byrne and Brian Eno - “Strange Overtones”
The Baseball Project - “Gratitude (for Curt Flood)”

Least Favorite Albums:

Weezer - Weezer: If “Pork and Beans” is so good, how the heck did this band become so bad?

Ben Folds - Way to Normal: Again, if “You Don’t Know Me” is so good, this album just feels like a failed experiment in comparison.

Elf Power - In a Cave: A very subpar performance by one of my favorite bands.

2008 Book Highlights:

Neal Stephenson - Anathem: So good, it may be one of my favorite books of all time.
David Louis Edelman - Multireal: The Jump 225 trilogy is quickly becoming one of the better sci-fi efforts I’ve read.
Jonah Goldberg - Liberal Fascism: A book that may never truly be taken as seriously as it should be.
Jeff Kinney - Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules: There is absolutely no writer who’s writing more relevant books for 10 year olds right now, period.
Cory Doctorow - Little Brother: When you can vehemently disagree with the politics and still enjoy a great story, it’s a clear winner.
Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games: Possibly the best young adult book to come around in years.

2008 Movie Highlights:

Cloverfield: Best monster movie in ages. This is not debatable.
Forgetting Sarah Marshall: If all comedy movies were like this, things would be better.
Step-Brothers: Yeah, Will Ferrell still has it.
Role Models: Best low-expectation/high reward flick in a while.
Iron Man: EDIT - How did I forget this? Better than The Dark Knight, for my money.

Prior Lists:

* 2007
* 2006
* 2005
* 2004
* 2003
* 2002
* 2001
* 2000

Beer goggles last longer for women:

For men, “beer goggles” wear off as quickly as the alcohol. But in women, the effect lasts much longer, a new study has revealed.

Researchers found that women who drink even moderately develop a reduced ability to rate attractiveness in male faces, even when they are sober.

Let the record show that my lovely wife is not, in fact, a crazy drunk. But still.

The only reason I know this is because of U.N.K.L.E.’s Psyence Fiction, which had this ad right before “Nursery Rhyme” (featuring a pre-fame Badly Drawn Boy, no less). I always thought it was some bizarro thing, not actually real.. Go Failblog!

In other news, if you’re unfamiliar with Psyence Fiction and like 90s-era techno, grab a copy. One of my favorite albums ever.

Kyle, you seen this yet? Between this and the also-awesome Ghostbusters comic, I never expected things to be this, uh, great.

Books:

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch: A fun fantasy crime caper. A bit longish at times, and the back-and-forth between time periods (the story covers both Locke’s start as a thief and a present-time situation) was a little frustrating at times, but still something I’m glad I read and intend to continue.

Ultimate X-Men: Tempest/New Mutants: Still reliable, still somewhat frustrating at times. It’s different reading X-Men than it is for Spider-Man for me, because I have an idea of the former, but not the latter, thus reading Spider-Man doesn’t screw with my previously-held perceptions. It’s still good, but what a difference.

The January Dancer - Michael Flynn: Someone recommended this to me as a literary Firefly. It is and it isn’t - space pirates with odd accents and a cowboy mentality, yes. Everything else? No, not really. I got through 2/3rds of this before giving up, because if you can’t figure out what’s going on in a book once you’ve read over 150 pages, you probably never will.

Chosen - Mark Millar: I have a mancrush on Mark Millar. There, I said it. A short series about a kid who appears to be the second coming of Christ.

Only You Can Save Mankind - Terry Pratchett: YA book by Pratchett about a kid who plays a computer game that blows up aliens, except that the aliens are real and want to surrender. Not bad, but not great either.

Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains - Laurel Snyder: I wanted to love this book. The good news is that I wouldn’t hesitate recommending it to any kid. The bad news is that it really didn’t work for me at all - a cute series of stories, for sure, but nothing crazy wonderful like I was hoping. I can see kids absolutely eating this up, but it was strange to read a kids book that wouldn’t appeal to me.

Fraud of the Century - Roy Morris, Jr: Another book I abandoned. It’s the story of the 1876 election between Hayes and Tilden, and how it was stolen. Sadly, it was written too close to the 2000 election to get the proper separation, and was unfortunately dry to boot. Alas…

Movies:

The Ex: Ridiculously horrible. Unfunny, poor twist, poorly executed, the whole lot. I’d say that everything Amanda Peet does is horrible, but I did like Igby Goes Down, that may have been a significant fluke, though. Zack Braff, WHY?

Ultraviolet: Ridiculously horrible. Great idea, horrid execution, I don’t understand how this happened.

Role Models: Surprisingly great. Went in with low expectations for what ended up being a very funny movie. I can’t really even describe half of what was great without giving away the best parts, but if you’re looking for a good, light, funny flick, you couldn’t ask for anything better.

The Shawshank Redemption: Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie from the beginning. I’m glad I did, an absolute gem. If you haven’t seen it, don’t wait as long as I have.

The Fellowship of the Ring: Ann has never seen these, so we’re going through the extended editions. I have to say, I do love them, but rewatching them makes them feel awfully rushed. I know, right?

Kabluey: A quirky indie flick about a deadbeat who gets a job as a mascot. Not much else to say, but it was good.

Would it be unconstitutional for Hillary Clinton to become Secretary of State? At issue is a clause even I didn’t think much (read: anything) about in Article I Section 6: “No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time.” Since Bush increased the salary of Secretary of State via executive order, it appears to disqualify Clinton - or anyone else from Congress - from being appointed to the cabinet, at least during Obama’s first term.

So crazy and bizarre and interesting all at once. There’s discussion about a workaround from before that got more than a few feathers ruffled, and I can’t imagine anyone letting this go by if Clinton is, in fact, nominated.

Here’s to hoping this week treats me right. I do much better with a routine.

* Good luck with this, Obama. 2.5 million jobs in two years for government busywork. Last time we tried that, unemployment spiked four years later. I’m looking forward to the rerun.

* There’s been some question as to whether the whole “Big 3 pays $70+ an hour on average” claim is true. The verdict: Almost. The legacy costs will drop somewhat, but they still pay a ton more than the competition. Related: National Journal offers some skepticism regarding some of the claims being put out there in defense of the Big 3.

* The longer we wring our hands about clean energy, the worse the problems are going to get. And let’s be clear - 30 years of blocking nuclear growth, decades of pushing untenable solutions, and the “green energy” fad that we’re experiencing now are not going to help solve the energy problems we’re almost certain to face. Is there a happy medium between pollution and energy? Yes, but we’re close to finding out what happens when that pendulum swings in the other direction.

* I’m annoyed by the eHarmony settlement. Part of me is happy it was a settlement, which means there were some concessions (although eHarmony must have seen the writing on the wall, too), and I’m happy that same sex couples to be will have a shot to be matched up, but should this EVER have been in the court system to begin with? Really?

* Here’s a shocker - when states limit adjustments on health care costs based on age or gender or habits, costs go up for everyone. Go figure.

* I’d be lax if I didn’t put this out there just for people to see, although I suspect most who read this are already aware of the “How Obama Got Elected” project, with the facepalm-inducing video and corresponding Zogby poll. It’s naturally being torn apart by the usual suspects, but it’s still one of those things you look at and shake your head. I’m not so bothered by the misinformed voters (well, I am bothered by misinformed voters, but keep going) - many of us heard this Howard Stern clip where one of his people applied McCain’s policies to Obama and see what people would say - it’s more a demonstration of how completely and utterly ridiculously inappropriate the media was in this election. It’s clear that these people are hearing these stories somewhere, and with that said, why would they know what Tina Fey as Sarah Palin said, but not as much about Obama (and in that case, we can point to a pretty solid reason why that meme persists)? I’m genuinely curious as to how history will illustrate this election and the media’s role, if it will at all.

* I don’t consider myself one, but it’s sloppy errors like this that create global warming skeptics. Just sayin’.

* I was taught early on in my professional life to assume a 2% response rate on direct mailings. A study on e-mail spam shows a response rate of over 12.5 million to 1. The scary part? “Yet even with this apparently abysmal response rate of less than 0.00001 per cent, the researchers still estimate that the controllers of a network the size of Storm are still bringing in about $7,000 (£4,430) a day or $3.5m (£2.21m) over a year.”

* I paid $1.79 for gas the other day. New Hampshire’s Democratic leadership, seeing the writing on the wall economically and trying to figure out how to pay for the extra stuff they threw into the budget, may increase the gas tax to make up for it. Even in greener pastures, we’re run by a bunch of morons.

* Three words regarding the GOP considering lawsuits to overturn McCain-Feingold stuff: Go, Republicans, Go!

* A cool article on the inner workings and libertarian leanings of Tor books.

* Also cool: the first optical images of extrasolar planets.

*Finally, I loved this story: Netflix is offering $1 million to anyone who can improve their recommendation mechanism by 10%. One researcher has found what he considers to be the “Napoleon Dynamite Problem,” where the movie skews your preferences in wild directions based on its unique properties as a film. Napoleon apparently skews things 15% in a weird direction, but other “odd” films like I Heart Huckabees or polarizing ones like Sideways do the same thing. also interesting: 60% of Netflix’s business comes from recommendations - they send out an absurd amount of recommended movies to viewers, and they pretty much rely on it for business these days. A very cool piece.

Goodbye, Pushing Daisies. We hardly knew ye.

Sigh.

Yes, I’ve been incommunicado as of late. No excuses, just haven’t felt like writing much. Still, a couple things:

1) I hesitate to play this game, but one has to wonder if Al Franken’s going to get away with swiping his election from Norm Coleman. I don’t usually link to Hot Air for anything, but someone posted it elsewhere and it’s one of the best takedowns concerning undervotes and recounts I’ve ever read. I can speak personally to this - if I don’t have an opinion on a race, or feel uninformed, I don’t cast a vote for it. In a recount situation where I’ve voted primarily one party, why should my vote be counted toward that race? I voted for one Democrat in the New Hampshire state-level elections - if we needed to recount here, would my vote be switched because I ‘made an error?”

Undervotes are what got Al Gore as close as he did in Florida during the 2000 debacle. That’s a problem - if we’re looking for true intent of the voter, we need to look at what they actually did, not what we assume they did. And what’s worse? Franken’s looking at “intent of the voter” when attempting to gain votes, but when he encounters this, he challenges it? Something’s clearly fishy here.

2) As another postscript to the “do we bail out the Big 3 or not” discussion, this isn’t getting enough play. On top of the pension promises, the fact that the domestic auto manufacturers pay so much over market value feeds into the financial storm they’re in. Sales alone can’t fix that, especially when the competition is not only paying their labor less, but paying less in taxes and producing what the public perceives to be the better product.

Let them die.

And I’m not kidding: Choose Your Own Adventure. Stolen shamelessly from Justin, it’s the best use of YouTube I’ve seen yet, seriously.

You’ll spend an embarrassing amount of time with this, I promise.

* If you want campaign finance laws, then enforce them. It ain’t hard. When people named Doodad Pro are donating to a political campaign, it’s time to do something about it. It’s not even a partisan issue here.

* While I’m slightly ranty, is this what passes for objective journalism? Yes, I know most of you see Sarah Palin as a curiosity more than a serious politician, but that shouldn’t be seeping into the mainstream reporting. The media really should be ashamed about the way this election was covered, but, well…. I liked this cartoon, and the final frame is probably my favorite part.

* Speaking of Palin, RedState provides an infodump showing how the post-election stories are, as anyone could have predicted, falling apart at the seams. Then again, I know people who still think she tried to ban books in Wasilla, so I suppose I should just be happy some people are speaking up.

* I don’t agree with everything here, but Thomas Sowell’s latest column on intellectuals is worth reading, if only to get a different point of view on things.

* File this under “things I’m surprised the Obama campaign didn’t try to get out into the open earlier,” an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times on his religious faith. You’d think requesting this to be released sometime in 2007 might have squelched the “secret Muslim” rumors from the beginning.

* Here, I’ll take a position no one will like: let GM die, already. Manufacturing in this country will be dead as long as the unions have such a stranglehold on things that a forklift driver for a domestic automaker can make 6 figures. Kill the automakers, see if anyone wants to try and make low cost cars at a reasonable but realistic rate of pay, and be done with it.

* I’m glad to see the true history of the Great Depression finally getting some traction in public circles. It’ll be too late to fix the problems we’re going to run into in the next few years, but maybe three will be a charm. More from economic columnist Amity Shlaes on FDR’s “leadership.” If you haven’t read her book The Forgotten Man yet, add it to your list.

* Obama probably won because his tax cut plan was more credible to voters. I’d laugh if I wasn’t so busy crying.

* Considering how much examination Joe the Plumber got for daring to question Obama on his tax plan, I wonder when the media will get curious about new Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s lack of property taxes on his “home.” Maybe it’s nothing, but it’s worth a look, isn’t it?

* Could Obama’s possible regulations on health care providers result in the closure of Catholic-sponsored hospitals? This could be serious.

* Finally, how South Park pulled off the election episode less than 24 hours after the election was decided.

* Okay, this may sound empty to plenty of you, but I don’t care: This Weekly Standard piece is good, and the final paragraph is what I’m thinking:

We at THE WEEKLY STANDARD congratulate Barack Obama on his impressive victory. We pledge our support for those of his policies we can support, our willingness to give him the benefit of the doubt in cases of uncertainty, and our constructive criticism and loyal opposition where we are compelled to differ. We hope President Obama’s policies and decisions will strengthen the nation he will now lead, and that our country and the cause of freedom in the world will emerge from the next four or eight years even stronger than they are today.

I don’t think Obama has the policy slate to repair things. I do think he’s lacking the understanding to make things better. This is not, however, my wishing him failure for anything, because I don’t think failure is a good thing, obviously. I’d love to see him prove me wrong.

* Record turnout? Not so much. The next step clearly has to be getting the states to figure out that the nation perceived as the bastion of democracy shouldn’t have lines at their polling places.

* For those of you insisting on Palin being a drag on the ticket, the exit polls say otherwise. If anything, a) Palin provided base energy to the ticket, but b) couldn’t repair the damage McCain did on his own. Kudos to him for trying to spin “maverick” into something positive, but even Sarah Palin couldn’t change McCain’s fundamentals. Furthermore, a recent Rasmussen poll shows plenty of positives regarding Palin in Republican circles.

* Speaking of Palin, in case you missed it.

* Jon Kyl wants to filibuster bad Obama judicial picks. This is why Kyl is one of my favorite Senators.

* Five myths about the Great Depression. Point one worries me in today’s context.

* More on the stagnant income myth. There are a ton of great graphs here. More on middle class wealth here.

* Freedom to Tinker discusses “orphan works” and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. I found this very fascinating given some of my research lately.

* This is kind of old, but baseball fans might enjoy Joe Posnanski on the scary, scary Tampa Bay Rays. The AL East is officially going to be even tougher.

* Another fun article on The War of the Worlds broadcast and the mythology behind the “widespread panic” the broadcast is generally believed to have caused.

* A strange thing: the Beacon Street Girls YA novels apparently help fight childhood obesity.

* Finally, it took a mathematician to figure out the opening chord to “A Hard Day’s Night.” Music is weird.

Did I mention that I’m horrible at keeping blogging promises?

I’ve not linked to this guy for a lot of reasons, but I really liked his video this time. Zo, better known as “Macho Sauce,” has been doing these videos for at least a few months now, if not more, and they’re refreshing - he’s a young, with-it conservative who just speaks his mind. The GOP would be very smart to pick him up for something. I think there’s a semblance of “hey, look, a black guy who thinks like us” mentality with his popularity, but today’s the first time I think he’s spoken to me and I’ve heard it. Some of you might not like everything he has to say on more general issues - neither do I, but I’m sure the rock star stuff will rub some people the wrong way, so you’ve been warned - but tell me there’s not some good stuff going on here.

It is a bit longish, and you can skip the first 2:25 without losing anything, but it’s worth your time. A few thoughts:

1) Yes, I think he’s crazy about Alan Keyes, but he’s also a Christian conservative.

2) I know David was pushing me toward the Huckabee bandwagon, but if this guy made the case for Huckabee for me a year ago, I might have listened to it.

3) The most important parts of the video, I think, are that he gets it perfectly. No one was excited about McCain, but we knew he recognized a good thing when he saw it. We couldn’t win because we didn’t have someone who could fight Obama where it counted, and he may have been right that Huckabee was the only capable guy to do it.

I don’t know. It still wasn’t a good year regardless for conservatives. But I’ll be damned if this guy hasn’t hit the major points on the nose.

I’m glad to see so many conservatives looking at this as a way to rebuild as opposed to wallow. That can only mean good things.

I’ve had this post sitting in the “draft” queue for nearly a month now, so I may as well finish it.

* Heroes - I love season three. I really do. Then again, I loved the slow burn of season two up through the strike, and while I do think Heroes does better when it keeps throwing things at you, it’s a really high quality program. Sure, they’re essentially swiping every plotline that The 3300 did, but so what? But yeah - apparently, Ann & I are the only two people in the universe who appear to like this show anymore, from the way the media and fan reactions have been. Go figure.

* Pushing Daisies - Still my favorite show on broadcast television, although this season has taken a little while to ramp up. If you’re a Nielson family reading this, please start watching, because the rumor is that it’ll be on the chopping block if people don’t wake up about what an awesome show this is.

* 30 Rock - Yes, we finally caught up. My favorite line from the show now that we’re in real time? “You can’t have a Lemon party without old dick!” I have never, ever, EVER laughed so hard at a line on a TV show, and the knowledge that 90% of those watching have no clue what it references is even better. If you’re part of that 90%, wait until you’re not working and Google “lemonparty,” and don’t say I didn’t warn you. But yes, 30 Rock is brilliant.

* Legend of the Seeker - Ann is not watching this with me, nor would I want her to. This is the sort of bad television that’s too good not to miss. It’s based off of the Terry Goodkind novels with less objectivism and more whining. I mean, how many good fantasy television shows are there? Heck, how many fantasy television shows are there period? So I’ll take what I can get, even if it’s a wee bit corny.

* The Office - I can’t think of a more consistently great comedy. No, really.

* Chuck - Total candy, but I can’t help myself.

* It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia - It’s sorta like a live action South Park, but with no actual message. But it’s so brutally, ridiculously funny that I can’t stop watching. Edgy humor doesn’t always work, but it does in this case.

* Entourage - The show isn’t nearly as good as it used to be, but all shows essentially slip in time. Johnny Drama in particular is nearly intolerable these days. It’s still a very, very fun show, though, and a quick half hour.

* Fringe - I think JJ Abrams is heading into Joss Whedon territory for me. This is the best new show on television, I think, and even though it can be gross at times, it’s absolutely riveting in a “don’t miss at all” way. I don’t like crime dramas, I don’t like X-Files-style supernatualism, but I LOVE this show.

* How I Met Your Mother - Four episodes into season one and we’re hooked. The problem? The laugh track. Laugh tracks ruin television shows. Seriously. Still, who would have thought a 30 minute broadcast sitcom could still be funny.

I sent this to Georgy personally last night, but I think the sentiment fits for a lot of people right now, so I’m sharing.

A quick note regarding yesterday’s apparent firebomb - considering the amount of stuff I read on a daily basis from readers here, if not hear directly, and let roll off my back, I didn’t think linking to a snarky piece that made me feel better after a depressing political situation would cause that much strife. Clearly, I was incorrect on that assumption. I’m not going to stop being angry, but I will make it a point to be a lot more selective in what I link here in terms of “tailored for conservatives feeling better” commentary. I am still the same guy, dammit - I don’t understand why you think the way you think, but I try to bend over backwards to respect it and to respect you folks for holding opinions that make no sense to me. If I weren’t friends with people I disagreed with, I wouldn’t have any friends, y’know.

Take from it what you will, but I’m not some evil, monstrous creature. I swear. I’m 5′5″ and weak, or something. I do think that the lack of something to significantly fight against - and my own mental health in a much better place since leaving the library, which I do think is a contributor to all of this - will temper things a bit here, intentionally or otherwise. So yeah.

I lost two friends before election day because of this election - not because of my attitude, but simply because of my beliefs, and they’ve said as much. Adam isn’t speaking to me period right now. I believe what I do while walking a tightrope, and I realize that my beliefs alone cause some great risks on a personal level with those situations in mind, so my intent is not to alienate, but to inform and get y’all to think about something you may not consider on your own. Maybe I’ve been failing on that, but maybe the circumstances made it harder to get across no matter what.

So with that said, I am taking a break from political blogging for the rest of the week, partially because I don’t have a ton to say, but obviously in part so that I can keep all the commentary in mind for the future. Why? Because I actually do care. and I think the “settledness” of the political landscape for at least 700 days will make things a little easier, and I’m in a great headspace personally, so yeah. When I say I love you all, I mean it. It’s lonely up in New Hampshire sometimes, and a good deal of you are the only link I have to my old life. I may be stupid, but I’m not dumb, y’know. I’ll stop now.

I have overdue music and television posts, so enjoy some candy later on.

I’m not proud of our country at the moment. Even after sleeping on it.

Why?

1) I feel like we just elected someone who’s policy slate includes so, so much of what I kept hearing - incorrectly - that Bush was doing. After watching a campaign where Obama held grudges against media outlets that challenged him, threatened organizations that dared question him, and sat completely silent when even ordinary citizens found their basic privacy torn to pieces for their skepticism, to see that sort of attitude get rewarded after hearing so much preaching about Bush and his alleged political enemies and such.

2) I feel like we’re essentially rejecting any pretense of restoring Constitutional government. This is not to say John McCain of McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform was someone who was going to steer us in the right direction, as his only hope was the Supreme Court and there’s no way the Senate would allow him to put the right people in place, but I’m stunned that, after all the complaining (again), we’re looking at someone who, while opposed to the so-called “Fairness Doctrine,” has a very questionable record on First Amendment issues. We need not highlight his votes on guns in Illinois, nor his support of the Washington, DC gun ban until it became politically convenient. Remember, as well, that if you felt FISA was too much, you just voted for a guy who was just as much in favor of it. Federalism will end up on life support as he nationalizes important aspects of our energy sector, as well. This should concern people. Either it doesn’t (which is scary) or people don’t quite realize it (easily possible).

3) We’ve, again, learned nothing from history. Expect me to hammer this point home more and more as his term goes along. As the FDR parallels continue on, I’m not just going to shake my head this time. Of course, it’s a losing battle - we can’t trust textbooks to tell the story properly, the media already showed us that they’re uninterested in an objective examination of Obama, so not only is there an uphill battle in recognizing history, but an uphill battle in demonstrating the probable road we’re headed down. I barely recognize this country some days as is - I genuinely fear the precipitous decline we could very well see in a unity government.

4) Obama has won the election, he now has to win his opponents. I’m not sure he can do it - he lost the benefit of the doubt with me very early on, and if he wants it back, he has to earn it. Another typical condescending speech from him won’t do the trick, nor will advocating policies he knows can be harmful. Showing even a cognizant application of the knowledge I’m told to assume he’s collected would be a great start, even if I don’t disagree with it. That would be a radical change from the campaign trail, and one I’d welcome.

If anything, at least no one can confuse me with an Obama supporter. I suppose, on a selfish personal level, that gives me a leg up to start. But the fact remains that the America I recognize, the one that was created for a certain reason? We’ll see it heading out the back door faster than we have in almost 40 years if things go as planned. That gives me chills, and not the good kind.

That’s my reality check. That’s what I’m fighting for. I found this to ultimately be the dawn of a new day for me:

We must remember that we are conservatives, and not liberals or “progressives” or whatever they’re calling themselves today. Politics is not our life. Unlike liberals, if we lose an election, we’re still going to be happier than liberals, whose worldview is premised on misery. They place their hopes and dreams in government, and so they will always be disappointed, especially when they find out they have to pay for their gas and mortgage after all. Conservatives, on the other hand, have low expectations of human nature and even lower from government; it is hard to be disappointed. And unlike liberals, our happiness is where it has always been and will be tomorrow: our family, our friends, our local community, in our work, our faith, and in our country. These will be around whether or not the current incumbents have a “R” or “D” next to their name.

A postmortem:

1) President Obama (still feels weird) has a chance to prove his critics wrong, and more importantly, prove history wrong. History - as a matter of reality, not the sugarcoated nonsense we’ve been spoonfed - is not kind to his type of Presidency, one with a foundation of hope and a mandate for “change.” We’ve seen what happens when you try and use the government as a tool for change. It made things worse in the 1930s, it was ineffectual in the 1960s, and it was disastrous in the 1970s. Assuming Obama governs in a similar way to how he’s run, it’s almost inevitable. In a way, for the right, now that we’re stuck with President Obama, it’s win-win - either he’s better than advertised and surprises us all, or he’s as bad (or worse) than we thought and we get to point out that we, in fact, were right from the start.

2) The Court has no significant silver linings here, except that it’s unlikely that Obama can make things worse than they are. The ability to fix the Supreme Court once and for all is probably a decade away now as opposed to within the grasp of reality, but the folks who are likely to resign are Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens - they’ll be replaced by like-minded folks or worse, which has no significant difference at that stage. Now, if this was time for Scalia or Thomas to go, we’d have more to worry about.

3) Christopher Shays = gone. Elizabeth Dole = gone. Shadegg = keeps his seat. Need I say more? This is similar to 2006 - Republicans and conservatives didn’t need folks like Santorum and Chafee stinking up the joint, just like the Democrats didn’t need Daschle in 2004.

4) In other good Senate news, Obama and Biden remove two Democrats from the Senate, and if John Kerry gets picked for State, that makes three. Maybe more.

5) This puts the Republican Party in an interesting spot. Instead of having to fight McCain along with trying to get its bearings back, now it can just focus on the future. There’s an excellent, excellent opportunity for reform within the party, but only if the GOP is smart and grasps it. I’m not sure they’re up for the challenge, but there’s no more Bush to worry about, there’s no majorities to try and protect, and many of the problem children have been flushed out. They’ll fail if they try to win on style points as Obama did. I fear that will be the attempt, especially with Palin. But Palin’s worth more to the movement than that, and I hope the GOP doesn’t fall into that trap. The slate in 2010 is going to be the interesting one, it’ll set a tone. Read this, by the always awesome Jeff Flake, and tell me it’s not a good starting point.

6) Taxes will go up, and the middle class will be betrayed by Obama. That’s not a good thing socially - in fact, it’s the last thing we need - but it will bring home the point quite well. When people are doing their taxes in a couple years after the Bush tax cuts expire, and they find out they don’t qualify for the marriage taxes the same way anymore, and that their tax bracket has gone back up, and that they don’t actually qualify for one of Obama’s tax credits that he passed instead? Oh, a reckoning there will be.

Finally, on a personal note, it looks like I was 44/49 on electoral projections or so. Best I’ve ever done. This is emboldening me to do more - mainly because I feel like there’s an opportunity to, on some level, help direct things.

One can only hope, I suppose.

EDIT: More from Freddoso.

…and I’m throwing in the towel.

Things I know:

1) Again - when Republicans run candidates who are not core Republicans, they’ll lose unless there are significant extenuating circumstances. While all the votes aren’t in yet, I did expect McCain to poll better, and now I feel silly because it really goes against what I clearly knew anyway - Republicans fail when they don’t run core Republicans.

2) Pennsylvania’s call is probably correct if even the McCain camp is saying “well, we’re not surprised.” I said it in my last post - McCain can’t win without PA.

3) Disappointed, but not shocked, by developments in NH. See above.

4) The media is beyond worthless. Far, far beyond worthless.

So now we get to deal with four years of a President Obama who’s policies will no doubt damage things worse than they already are. The GOP has four years to regroup, figure out what the hell they want to be as a party, and then challenge him in 2012. That assumes we ever get to know exactly what’s going on.

I’ll probably have more to say once I have a clearer head in the morning. But for now, I’m disappointed. Disappointed in McCain’s poor showing, disappointed in myself for not swallowing the inevitability I knew was coming, disappointed in my country, and disappointed in our inability to learn from our mistakes.

I really think it comes down to Pennsylvania.

I don’t think McCain can take Pennsylvania.

I’m not sure McCain can’t take Pennsylvania.

As much as I hope this is true, I think I’m in for a long night.

Timed to distract you from worrying about the election!

Books:

Infoquake - David Louis Edelman: A book I had on my list for quite a while, science fiction about the brink of true virtual reality, and the corporate backstabbing that would go with it. A very fascinating universe, and one turn after another to throw you a curveball to go with it. I really can’t describe this book all that well, except that it was quite good and I think anyone who likes sci-fi should read it. I recommended it to two people at the library who both gave it rave reviews afterwards, so that should mean something.

Transmetropolitan: Back on the Street/Lust for Life/Year of the Bastard - Warren Ellis: I’m giving Transmetropolitan a second go, and I’m finding I both like it more and dislike it more. I’m not nearly as cynical as I apparently was when I first dove into this graphic novel series, but I’m also appreciating the nuances of it more, too. It’s probably something I need to read in longer sittings, not bite-sized morsels. Or maybe I’m just crazy.

Six Innings - James Preller: I’m going to go out on a limb and call this the best work of fiction about baseball for kids that I’ve ever seen. The story is great, the narrative grasps the team chemistry, it spends time on the characters it needs to, and keeps you genuinely interested. I was riveted when I read it, and I’m roughly 18 years older than the target audience. Absolutely wonderful book.

The Name of This Book is Secret - Pseudonymous Bosch: The bad news is that the success of A Series of Unfortunate Events is that it spawned the inevitable copycat novels. The good news is that some of them are quite fun on their own, and this is no exception. The first in an adventure series with fun protagonists and untrustworthy narrators, it’s a pretty worthy book in its own right, even if I can’t shake the Snicket off of it.

Knights of the Lunch Table Vol. 1: The Dodgeball Chronicles - Frank Cammuso: All the kids want to read for graphic novels is Bone, but this ranks up there with Jellaby as one of the better ones out there, I think. Take your King Arthur story, put it in an elementary school, and make dodgeball an important part of it. The story would be hard-pressed to fail on that anyway, but it’s so well crafted that the ride is too much fun. Find it at your library and spend 20 minutes with it.

Amulet: Volume 1: The Stonekeeper - Kazu Kibushi: Another kiddie graphic novel, but with a really solid adventure and some absolutely gorgeous artwork. A fantasy story at its heart, I can’t say much else except give it a shot if you’re into it.

The New Policeman/The Last of the High Kings - Kate Thompson: Also a kid’s book, but could easily pass as a Stardust-style adult fantasy if marketed differently. The two books compliment each other well - it chronicles the relationship between a family in Ireland and the alternate dimension where time fails to pass. Throw in a couple of the old stories you hear about changelings and the roots of old Irish folk songs, and you have a great story to run with. I was honestly very, very sad when I was done with these.

Knucklehead - Jon Scieszka: A memoir of sorts of Scieszka’s childhood. The chapter about crossing swords alone makes the read worthwhile.

Anathem - Neal Stephenson: Single best novel I’ve read all year, hands down. Took me forever to finish, but was an amazing slow burn the whole way through. At over 900 pages, it’s more than a tome, but worth it if you like science fiction, fantasy, philosophical puzzles, well-crafted worlds, or, hell, any sort of fiction that will challenge you in any way. Mike warned me early on how it takes a few odd turns, but I felt they fit right in by the time the story was over. The most frustrating part, however, is what makes it so genius - you get so frustrated in only seeing a portion of the information you need, which is only the information that the main protagonist is getting, that you can’t help but a) reading long after you should be in bed, and b) reading just to find out what you want to hear. And it all fits together. I honestly can’t rave about this enough. Best book I’ve read since The Name of the Wind.

Predator’s Gold/Infernal Machines - Philip Reeve: Books two and three about futuristic traction cities. The timeline shoots forward a bit, the world still utterly fascinating. Not much else to say since the first book in the series.

The Calder Game - Blue Balliett: Blue Balliett writes mysteries with artwork at the center. I hate mystery books, I don’t get art. With all that said, every book she’s written for kids, I’ve loved. Go figure. This is a standard mystery revolving around Calder sculptures/mobiles. Read Chasing Vermeer and The Wright 3 first, though.

The Compound - S. A. Bodeen: A psychological thriller for teens about an eccentric rich man who locks himself and his family in their nuclear bunker following an attack. A short read, for sure, but the story hooked me in no time as the story unraveled. And I usually hate psychological thrillers, too.

The Book of Lies - Brad Meltzer: I know a good deal of talented, unpublished writers. People with great ideas and even better execution who can’t get any traction. When I think of them in the context of this pile of crap they call a novel, it makes me sad inside. I’m pulling a Roger Ebert - I finally gave up on this book after page 108. It’s so poorly written and even more poorly executed that, even if you do care about what’s happening for some reason, the idiocy that comes from the narrative negates it in a split second. What’s worse, I’m pretty sure the reason I picked this book up is because of the amount of people who’s opinion I respect raving about it. I have no clue what to say. None whatsoever. Possibly the worst book I’ve set eyes on, and I’ve read some Harry Stephen Keeler.

Paper Towns - John Green: John Green is a very talented young adult writer. I preface my comments by saying that because he has now written three full length books about essentially the same thing: male protagonist travels and there’s a girl he’s fascinated by who has become lost in some way. In Looking for Alaska, it was losing a girl one way that would give away a key plot element while the male was at boarding school. In An Abundance of Katherines, it was a road trip following a breakup. In Paper Towns, it’s a disappearing girl. It’s the same core story time and time again, and yet each book seems to find that common thread and make it absurdly relevant. It somehow re-tells a similar story, but completely differently. I can’t explain it, and yet I still love it. I’m glad the books exist, and I’m glad he’s struck gold with this one, too.

Rash - Pete Hautman: Mmm, dystopia stories for teens. Sadly, I’m not sure most who read it will understand how the nation portrayed in this book got to that point.

The Big One-Oh - Dean Pritchard: A goofy, fun read about a quirky misfit and his upcoming tenth birthday. A light, fun read.

Ignatious MacFarland: Frequenaut! - Paul Feig: Paul Feig is one of the twisted minds behind Freaks and Geeks. He’s apparently still very twisted.

Movies:

Rocket Science: Think Napoleon Dynamite meets Little Miss Sunshine somewhere in debate club. A somewhat strange movie, but endearing anyway. Also, surprisingly realistic for a quirky indie flick.

Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay: For someone who’s never gotten stoned, I sure love me a funny stoner comedy.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Kevin Smith does it again. Hardly my favorite of his upon reflection, but still high quality. I’d say the problem I had with it is that I find Kevin Smith to be a more cerebral writer - yeah, he loves a good dirty joke, but the reason they work is because it’s watching a bunch of normal people have the conversations you wish you were having, or, if you’re lucky, have had with your normal friends. It’s why Chasing Amy didn’t quite work for me, it’s why Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back didn’t have the right feel for me, and it’s why Dogma has held up so poorly for me - the films fiddle with the formula too much and become flawed as a result. Zack and Miri is more like Jay and Silent Bob in that it feels like a nontraditional Kevin Smith movie. It’s better than that, though - it still has a ton of heart, still has the same witty laughs, just fewer of them, instead relying more on gags and the fact that everything Seth Rogen or Elizabeth Banks do is funny. That doesn’t make it a bad thing, just a different one. So yeah - I loved it, but I expected more.

Putney Swope: Chelsea recommended this to me, and all I can say is “wow.” What a stunning movie. It’s ridiculous on so many levels, it’s completely unlike anything I’ve ever seen, and I think I love it. Just a strange, strange movie - the position of head of an ad agency somehow lands in the lap of token black executive Putney Swope, who immediately turns it into Truth and Soul Inc.. The satire works for the era it comes from, and might even be more relevant now depending on how you take it. As bizarre as it is, I’m still glad I saw it and I consider myself a fan. What next, Chelsea? You’ve yet to steer me wrong.

I know I said no politics today, but…

Ann: “Hey, so when a political candidate gives up, it’s called a…
Jeff: “…concession?”
Ann: “Right! So what does that have to do with a concession stand, where you get snacks!?”
Jeff: *facepalm*

Later…

Ann: “You’ll be proud of me though, this is the first time I didn’t cast any votes based on silly-sounding names!”

President - John McCain over Barack Obama: No, I wasn’t a fan of the last four years, either. Why? Not the war, not the political posturing, but the government spending, the government interference, and the lack of a consistent, coherent domestic policy. In terms of what we’re going to get in the next President, neither McCain or Obama have significant answers to deal with those issues, but the utter naiveté and incoherence of a possible Obama Presidency should turn anyone off. Yet the mantra of change and the mistaken beliefs of what’s actually happened over the last eight years have seem to taken over any real true discussion of the issues on either side. This isn’t 2004, where we had a pretty lousy President but a defining issue that drew a clear line - this time, Iraq is off the table and yet many are looking at that as a key issue still. What’s left, then? An untenable energy policy? An unsustainable spending plan? A tax plan that will harm the economy by Obama’s own admission and will increase your taxes? And yes, it will - if the Bush tax cuts expire and you pay federal taxes, you’ll see an increase with no guarantee that Obama’s preferred tax credits are anything you’ll qualify for. This is where the Obama candidacy falls apart - the details.

If this election were a referendum on honesty, we’d all be forced to vote “none of the above.” I’m pretty sure we can all agree on that. But if you want actual change - not the hopey snake oil kind that Obama’s been peddling - McCain’s the guy you want in there. His voting record is more moderate, his reputation for reaching across the aisle well-known, and his ability to get things done in the face of what appear to be impossible political circumstances legendary. More importantly, no one can doubt his commitment to what he believes is right. This is not some knock on Obama’s patriotism or anything like that, but a knock on Obama’s judgment - when a person so blatantly makes decisions based not on what he believes is right, but what appears to be politically tenable or desirable (see: Iraq, FISA, public financing for campaigns), that’s not real change, that’s the same thing you’ve been complaining about for the last 8 years. Obama reminds me of the exploitation filmmakers that I spend so much time researching - sure, you get to see naked people in their natural habitat, but you’ll have to sit through an uncompelling frame reel of native people to get there. If you really think you’re going to get what you’re voting for, I’m not sure what to say.

I’m damning McCain with faint praise here. My reason for voting for him is singular - Sarah Palin. It’s a shame that the campaign foolishly allowed the media to define her before she got the chance, because she’s a dynamic, intelligent, and capable politician who, if there’s any justice in the world, should have a long career ahead of her. She’s still a politician at heart - anyone who gets to this level ultimately is - but when I say she’s “change I can believe in,” I mean it because it’s true - she walks the walk where the head of the Democratic ticket is merely talking it. But here’s the only pitch I can give you in a time where I simply didn’t have the personal mental energy to make the pitch for the last few months - McCain has actually been someone who’s stood for change repeatedly. Often, you’ve liked the change, often not. But McCain will be up against a Democratic Congress, and that’s a situation he absolutely relishes. In a term where Iraq won’t matter, universal health care isn’t on the table, and the Court really truly isn’t in the balance (let’s be blunt - I’d rather not see the three liberal seats filled with clones of their predecessors, but a Democratic Congress shouldn’t let the opposite happen and there are only two rock-solid anti-Roe votes in the conservative wing anyway), where do we go?

If you’re “voting for change” Obama-style, you’re doing it because you want to see things get done. Does Obama give you that confidence? More importantly, are you truly confident that the Obama platform, whether you agree with it or not, is one that’s best for the country under the current circumstances? Are you really confident he has it in him, when he didn’t even have it in him to do it while he’s had power, when he didn’t have it in him to stick to his plans on the campaign trail? The parallels between 2008 and 1932 are really scary to me at this point, and we know how that turned out. Let’s not fall into the same trap.

As Americans, we de