Still Lost in Literature

Bing Crosby as a Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Several months ago I commented on the ITV miniseries Lost in Austen and the general idea of getting literally lost in a favorite novel. Recently my mind has returned to that theme thanks to me reading The Eyre Affair. In the novel some characters are able to enter books, manuals and poems. Unlike the miniseries Lost in Austen, the characters in The Eyre Affair know they are in a book. In the Eyre Affair the protagonist, Thursday Next, enters the novel Jane Eyre and becomes friends with the male lead of the novel, Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester is aware of plot points, the effect of Jane's first person narration (anything written on the book page has to be observed or spoken by Jane), and the need to protect the integrity of the story. The Eyre Affair is a lot of fun in that it treats literature very, very, very seriously. So I initially wondered if this lost in literature concept is a British thing.

"Not so!" my little mind reminded me the other day. I remembered that it was Mark Twain who first introduced my young mind to literally losing oneself in a good book. In A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court Mark, the character Hank Morgan, a "19th century citizen of Hartford, Connecticut, literally loses himself in Arthurian legend. The Connecticut Yankee brings with him knowledge of science and social liberalism and proceeds to befriend Arthur and antagonize Merlin and the Camelot establishment.  (I most confess, that I've only ever read the first half of this book.  It got much too complicated, satrical and political towards the end, and my twelve year old self quickly lost interest).

So, to be clear, as far as my mind recalls, Mark Twain got me lost in literature first. Again, I ask, where would you go in literature to shake things up?

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Henry the Fifth Moments

There are moments in movies when the team is losing at halftime, when the next offensive of the battle starts, when the task seems daunting...that someone steps up and gives an inspiring speech.  I call those moments Henry the Fifth Moments.  If you've ever read or seen the Shakespeare play, you may be acquainted with the several times that King Harry leads his troops into a dauting fight agaist the French and then sustains their spirit with inspiring words.  These inspirational words from Shakespeare's pen have lived on to be widely recognized today: "Once more unto the breach dear friends, once more,"  "Cry God for Harry, England and St. George!" "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers."  And the spirit of the play lives on in countless sports, war, adventure and even comedy films.  Below, is a youtube video of spliced and edited Henry the Fifth Moments from some great movies.  Appropriately, there's even a clip from Henry V.  Watch, and be inspired!


Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

My Christmas Mix

This past weekend I created a Christmas Music Mix.  It is inteded to keep my mind happy and occupied on the drive to work and on the long drive home for Christmas.  Both legal and technical reasons prevent me from uploading the songs for you, but if you would like to find any of them on your own, try this website or this one.

1.  Oliva Olson – All I Want For Christmas Is You (from the soundtrack for the film Love Actually)

2.  Darlene Love – It’s A Marshmallow World

3.  Percy Faith – We Need A Little Christmas

4.  The Waitresses – Christmas Wrapping

5.  Marah – Christmas At Valley Forge (from this episode of This American Life, pretty funny and educational, follow the link and listen to Act V of the show)

6.  Gayla Peevey – I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas (listen via streaming audio)

7.  The Royal Guardsmen – Snoopy’s Christmas (listen via streaming audio)

8.  Marah – New York Is A Christmas Kind Of Town (listen to a snipit on Marah's myspace page)

9.  Vince Guaraldi Trio – Hark, The Herald Angels Sing (from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, watch it at the 2:34 minute mark of this youtube clip)

10.  Stevie Wonder – Someday At Christmas

11.  Aimee Mann – I’ll Be Home For Christmas 

12.  Randy Travis – Jingle Bell Rock

13.  Louis Armstrong – Santa Baby

14.  david m. bailey – Angel In The Attic (listen via streaming audio)

15.  Nancy White – It’s So Chic To Be Pregnant At Christmas 

16.  Sufjan Stevens – Holy, Holy, Holy

17.  XTC – Thanks For Christmas

18.  Johnny Cash – Away In A Manger

19.  Chuck Berry – Run, Rudolph, Run

20.  Death Cab For Cutie – Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

21.  The Jackson Five – Frosty The Snowman (listen via streaming audio)

22.  Seven Day Jesus – O Holy Night

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Presidential Election '08 Continued

You thought it was over?  Well it's not.  The Electoral College starts voting today.  You may have voted in November, but the next President of the United States has not been, technically, elected yet.  Today across the country the Electoral College starts voting and the next President won't be constitutionally elected until January 8th when the electoral college's votes get counted in Congress. Will this election ever end? Evidently, not yet.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Hillary Clinton: Will She be a Seward or a Chase?

The main reason I readTeam of Rivals was because journalists and Barak Obama himself asserted the history book was a touchstone for his thinking in organizing a presidential cabinet. Reading Team of Rivals, I ended up shoehorning recent 2008 campaign events into a comparison with events surrounding Lincoln. There are some striking similarities. As for Lincoln and Obama, 

• Both are lawyers who began their political careers in Springfield, IL. 
• Both rose to national awareness due to exceptionally eloquent speeches that resonated with moderate public opinion. 
• Both were perceived as inexperienced, Washington outsiders with an outside chance at a nomination. 
• Both employed a successful strategy of gaining grass roots support among a diverse group of delegates to ensure that where he was not the first choice of delegates he was a second choice. (Particularly, a comparison of the 1860 Republican convention to the 2008 Iowa caucus, reveals both employed the same strategy of making sure that where he could not be the first choice among delegates/caucus goers he would be their second choice should their first choice candidate not garner enough support.)
  

Two of Lincoln's chief competitors for the nomination were William Henry Seward and Salmon Chase. Hillary shares some striking similarities with these men.

• Seward and Hillary were well acquainted with the Washington elite and had been familiar to the public for decades.
• Seward and Hillary had the support of a well seasoned, well known political machine/political bosses.
• Seward and Hillary saw their nomination as inevitable.
• Chase did and Hillary appeared to have a personal, desperate and at times blinding desire to be president.
• Chase and Hillary and Seward underestimated the consequences of the enemies they'd made along the way in previous political campaigns.

Once elected, Lincoln wanted both Seward and Chase in his cabinet because they were bright and talented. He honestly wanted their counsel. He also wanted to achieve balance and party unity. Each man represented a faction of the young Republican Party. Seward and Chase entered the cabinet each believing he was more deserving than Lincoln. Each perceived Lincoln as weak, and each initially planned to influence Lincoln's decisions and govern through the cabinet as a de facto president. Seward, eventually put aside his personal ambition to be president and became Lincoln's closest friend and supporter in the cabinet sharing a rapport and affection with him. Seward provided invaluable counsel and played an instrumental and heroic role as Secretary of State in using diplomacy to keep Europe from recognizing Confederate sovereignty. Chase, while he eventually came to admire Lincoln's kindness and capability, always thought himself better than the president. Chase also did a heroic job in financing the Union as Secretary of the Treasury. Chase, however, worked against Lincoln, spreading political unrest behind Lincoln's back and pursuing a presidential nomination.

So my question, is which will Hillary be? Will she be Seward and grow to be Obama's most devoted admirer and supporter, providing counsel and advising him honestly?  Will she be Chase, working effectively and tirelessly, but never relinquishing the feeling that it should have been her job, and working to spread unrest within the party and behind Obama's back. Which one will she be?
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Lincoln the Editor

Abraham Lincoln's Desk in Springfield

I very much enjoyed reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. I posted a book review on my shelf over at Shelfari. My favorite passage in the book is an analysis the author, Doris Kearns Goodwin, does of Lincoln's resonant First Inaugural Address. Before introducing her analysis, Ms. Goodwin spends many previous pages tracing the development and boundaries of Lincoln's and William H. Seward's opinions on slavery. Seward phrases his abolition opinion as a response to a higher law that compels us to treat all people humanely. Lincoln phrases his anti-slavery opinion as a pragmatic fulfillment of the principles of equality enshrined in the Constitution. In the passage excerpted below, Ms. Goodwin lays out the language recommended by Seward side-by-side with the language Lincoln eventually chose. The texts are extremely similar, but the subtle differences exhibit important qualities of Lincoln: (1) his willingness to seek and embrace the advice of others; (2) his talent for effective eloquent communication as both a writer and editor; and (3) his confidence in adhering to the pragmatic idealism he believed in.

Seward’s greatest contribution to the tone and substance of the inaugural address was in its conclusion. Lincoln’s finale threw down the gauntlet to the South: “With you, and not with me, is the solemn question of ‘Shall it be peace, or a sword?’” Seward recommended a very different closing designed “to meet and remove prejudice and passion in the South, and despondency and fear in the East. Some words of affection—some of calm and cheerful confidence.” He suggested two alternate endings. Lincoln drew upon Seward’s language to create his immortal coda.

Seward suggested: “I close. We are not we must not be aliens or enemies but fellow countrymen and brethren. Although passion has strained our bonds of affection too hardly they must not, I am sure they will not be broken. The mystic chords which proceeding from so many battle fields and so many patriot graves pass through all the hearts and all the hearths in this broad continent of ours will yet again harmonize in their ancient music when breathed upon by the guardian angel of the nation.”

Lincoln proceeded to recast and sharpen Seward’s patriotic sentiments into a concise and powerful poetry: “I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.” Most significant, Seward’s “guardian angel” breathes down on the nation from above; Lincoln’s “better angels” are inherent in our nature as a people.

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Thanksgiving Historical Anecdote

I spent the past three weeks and a giant chunk of Thanksgiving weekend reading Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin. I've been enjoying Ms. Goodwin's historical insights on Sunday morning talk shows and on PBS for years now. When Barak Obama and other journalists started bandying her book about as an insightful instruction on Presidential management and cabinet creation, I thought it was about time I gave her a read. I did, and the book is excellent. It even had a very apt Thanksgiving anecdote which, if Ms. Goodwin doesn't mind too much, I will post here:

“....Both [President Lincoln and Secretary of State William H. Seward] loved humor....”

Fred Seward recounted the events of one morning in October 1863 when his father called on Lincoln. “They say, Mr. President, that we are stealing away the rights of the States. So I have come to-day to advise you, that there is another State right I think we ought to steal.” Raising his head from his pile of papers, Lincoln asked, “Well, Governor, what do you want to steal now?” Seward replied, “The right to name Thanksgiving Day!” He explained that at present, Thanksgiving was celebrated on different days at the discretion of each state’s governor. Why not make it a national holiday? Lincoln immediately responded that he supposed a president “had as good a right to thank God as a Governor.”

Seward then presented Lincoln with a proclamation that invited citizens “in every part of the United States,” at sea or abroad, “to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November” to give thanks to “our beneficent Father.”

So, dear readers, happy belated Thanksgiving! A day which we celebrate as one nation courtesy of both the humorous whim and the hard work of Messrs Lincoln and Seward. Something to be thankful for year-round and forever more.

(Unrelated musing: How long do you think it will take before spell checks stop trying to auto-correct the names Barak and Obama?)
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Sufferin' Suffrage

This is why The View fascinates me. You give four women a platform to spout their opinions, and those four women are often times ill informed. Every now and then I catch clips of the show on abcnews.com and end up playing the mental game of "now how would a reasonable and informed person respond to that point." Lucky for the four regular co-hosts, sometimes Barbara Walters shows up and is able to educate them or steer them clear of exhibitions of ignorance. Then sometimes she's not there and you end up with the ladies discussing and defining suffrage as "when black people had to...die for being black." It looks like the ladies confused suffrage with suffering, for as co-host Joy Behar says "it has suffering in it." So the moral of the story is: Don't let your children go through an election cycle without knowing what suffrage is---it's bad for the world and daytime television.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

The Soup Diet: Week Four Report

Leek Love is alive and well!!

Monday: Adaptable Aztec Soup (without adaptations)
Tuesday: Adaptable Aztec Soup (with Chinese Soup noodles)
Wednesday: Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup
Thursday: Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup
Friday: Lentils 'n Squash

Well, the Aztec Soup is gone. Out of the refrigerator. In my tummy. Done. I got lazy early in the week and didn't brew up any new soups. So lazy that I didn't even create any "adaptations" for the Aztec Soup. Fortunately it's still very good "as is." And adding Chinese Soup noodles (conveniently left by some co-worker on the counter in the office's mini kitchen) worked as well as tortilla strips. My roommate is also in love with leeks, and kindly replenished the refrigerator's leek supply. Thus, this week's leek soup. And lastly, you must notice that Friday's "soup" is not a soup. It's the Soup-For-Lunch Diet's first failure and I faithfully document it for you. I ran out of time and creativity. Instead I had an almost two month old acorn squash in the refrigerator and a new lentil recipe in my recipe box....thus....NO SOUP FOR ME today.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Veteran's - Remembrance Day

British television recently reminded me that today is not just Veteran's Day at home, but a Memorial-Veteran's Day Combo Holiday across the world. In Great Britain, they name today Remembrance Day and people wear poppy pins (I saw it on the British TV show Spooks) harking back to the poppies growing in the field of battle during World War I. November 11 marks the end of that War to End All Wars....that didn't. Today boys, and now girls, keep fighting. On Veteran's Day in the U.S. we honor the living participants. I think it's an important distinction. Honoring the dead on Memorial Day seems easier than honoring and responding to the needs of the living. Coming home cannot be easy for the Veterans and for their families. We ask much of them. Their sacrifice lies not only back on the battlefields and humanitarian intervention arenas, but also travels home with them. Today is a good reminder that we as a society and government must honor them AND care for their special needs---needs created by the service they give to us.

PBS produced a report on the increase of suicide among U.S. Veterans. So today I highlight the extra stress our current conflicts place on the minds of our servicemen and women. Keep this concern in your thoughts and prayers. Also, thank you servicemen and women for putting your physical and mental health at risk for others.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Campaign 08: The Full Story

Newsweek has published a FASCINATING report on the entire 2008 campaign.  Embedded reporters followed Obama, Hillary and McCain around for the past year or more recording every scrap of detail on condition they would not reveal it until after the election.  Well, the election is over and the full story is a terrific soap opera of behind the scenes action.

• Insights into Obama's decision making: He never let his advisers know what he was thinking.  He made the decision himself, against his advisers' recommendations, to give his speech on race.

• Insights into McCain's honor: He drew bright lines of not to attack Obama on Jeremiah Wright or to attack Michelle Obama.

• Descriptions of debate prep: Obama studied intensely as if for a Bar exam.  McCain watched tape of Biden and Palin and thought Biden came off as a cranky old guy....and McCain didn't get the irony.

• Dirt on Palin: Oh yeah, she spent that much money and more on designer clothes and she spent it herself.  She also was peeved at her handling and therefore refused some interview prep before the Couric interview.  Palin started the Ayers attacks on her own initiative.

• Cute behind the scenes anecdotes:  Palin's daughter Piper would scramble over Lindsay Graham to reach her mother.  Obama playfully and in a nerdy way teased Michelle about her accessories.

It's a long article and it's all good stuff.  (If you'd rather watch, Charlie Rose interviewed a Newsweek reporter and editor who elaborated on the long article).  As for the website/article, it's terrific reading.  The first page gives you tempting "highlights," and the rest of the reporting divides into seven chapters.  Happy reading!  (And find an embed of the Charlie Rose interview after the jump).






Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

The Soup Diet: Week Three Report

This week ended up being Left-overs and Leek week. Some ingredients and unfinished soup from the last two weeks were nearing expiration in the refrigerator, affecting the direction of this week's menu.

Monday: Adaptable Aztec Soup
Tuesday: Russian Potato Mushroom Soup
Wednesday: Leek and Potato Soup (this time with thyme)
Thursday: Leek and Potato Soup
Friday: Russian Potato Mushroom Soup

No major adaptations to the Aztec Soup this week. I just used tortillas. Non-glamorous but still delicious. The Russian Potato Mushroom Soup was okay. It used leeks, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms. The combination sounded fabulous, but the end product was merely good. The lack of fabulousness may have been affected by my refusal to add the half-and-half the recipe demanded. Instead I blended/pureed half the soup. But I still think the recipe falls short of its promising ingredients.  In other words, it is somehow less than the sum of its parts.  The chief problem with the Russian Soup was proportionality: too much work (chopping and blending) for too little reward (an okay soup).

Which leads me to a small paragraph opining on the proportionality factor in my cooking and baking philosophy. The perfect recipe, to me, not only creates a fantastic dish but accomplishes that dish with as little cost and fuss as possible. I employ of ratio of Taste to Effort, where 

Taste   =   good, very good, excellent and best evah!

and 

Effort   =   cheapness + time to prepare + time to cook + time to clean up

Some math or statistics genius would put up a spread sheet right here, but that's not me. I'd say that the ratio for the Russian Soup was 1/9 (1 for taste (it tasted good) and 9 for effort (lots of chopping, peeling, dicing, blending and use of more than one pan)). The Leek & Potato Soup was 9/3 (9 for taste (excellent, almost a best soup evah) and 3 for effort (potato peeling, leek washing, and blender use drives up the effort factor but the blender factor surprisingly reduces the potato dicing factor because it only requires potato slicing)). So Leek & Potato Soup wins! Indeed, this week the subtle but sweet Leek and Potato Soup became fabulous with the added improvements of more salt and a dash of thyme. I love you leek! Stay in my refrigerator forever.

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

My Map is Our Map

This is how my map looks after coloring is complete. I actually colored this map using the generic Windows "Paint" program, so I'm sort of proud of my newfound "paint" abilities. Last night I introduced a few first-timers to "coloring on election night." We sat around eating buffalo wings, licking our fingers and coloring with blue and red pencils.  Grown men and women coloring while eating buffalo wings is a special sight.  The first-timers agreed: coloring on election night is fun.  Fortunately, there were no inadvertent colorings, a la Florida 2000.  I did, however, color the entire state of Maine without first assessing whether all four of its electoral votes (Maine splits its votes by congressional district...as does Nebraska, hence the white uncolored chunk on my map) had gone blue.  Lucky for me, it seems Maine's final electoral vote is, indeed, blue.  (Remember there is no erasing in electoral coloring!!).

What a great historic and emotional election! Thank you to all who voted. To all who joyfully and peacefully celebrated in the streets. And to you, dear readers, who shared your voting stories from across the country.  Those stories paint an even more colorful electoral map.  They are truly interesting and important.  If you have more stories about voting or election night (readers in DC and NYC were you in the streets?) please share.

UPDATE: Substantial returns have come in and I've posted a new map below to reflect that McCain squeezed out a win in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District as well as in Missouri. And Obama eked out a win in North Carolina.

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Voting Stories

I voted this morning. Contrary to reports from media outlets and co-workers in the office, I had a very short eight person line. I did, however, witness something interesting and touching. An African American family ahead of me finished voting and took pictures of each other. The oldest member of the family, an elderly husband, posed for the last photograph supported by his wife on one side and a wooden cane on the other. They were smiling and laughing. I've never seen anyone so joyful about voting. As a one time student of history I can appreciate probably only a tiny fraction of how much it means to that African American family to be able to vote for a viable African American candidate. How much that elderly couple lived through. And how much that elderly couple might have never believed that today's vote was ever possible. I'm a suburban bred white girl who is not necessarily voting the way they are, but it still moves me to see how much this morning moved them.

So tell me about your voting experience. What happened? How long was your line? See anything good? What kind of ballot did you use? Were you working the polls? Did you not vote? Share in the comments.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Election 08: Coloring the Night Away

It's a bit of a tradition for me. On general election night I sit on the floor behind the coffee table and in front of the television. Laid before me on the coffee table top are a blue pencil, a red pencil, and a blank electoral college map. As the returns come in, I color appropriately. I believe this ritual began for me in November of 1988 with a worksheet from my 5th grade teacher. I'm not sure if I continued the coloring exercise for every subsequent general election, but since that wild, endless night in 2000, I take both a thrill and comfort in it. Indeed, in 2000 the election added an element of skill to my coloring exercise: to color Florida blue or red or not at all? (There is no erasing in electoral college coloring!....because my colored pencils for some reason never seem to have erasers).

Today I will procure some pencils and print out my map. Today I will vote. And tonight I will color. It's my American tradition. Please vote.  Coloring is optional.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Halloween and The Rise of the Fairies

A little less than a week ago, while volunteering at a street fair and interacting with children, I took an informal and completely unscientific poll of what children planned on being for Halloween. Among the girls "princess" was an expectedly popular answer. But the most popular costume plan was "fairy." One little girl even wanted to be a "dead fairy." Then I heard Barak Obama say his daughter is dressing as an evil fairy for Halloween. Hmmm. Add to that my adult friend who this year attended the Maryland Faerie Festival and devoted the fall to sewing a grown up fairy costume. Something's happening here.

It looks like, yes indeed, in the hearts and minds of little girls enterprising fairies are replacing those pretty princesses. This week a report on NPR's Marketplace discussed a massive marketing plan by Disney to turn fairies into the new must-have dolls, tv shows, books, bags, shirts, etc. Fairies, one of the little girls in the radio report says, have more individuality and hands-on problem solving skills. Okay, the little girl didn't put it exactly like that. But that was her general point. To her fairies were pretty, cool, and full of variety.

So don't be surprised if you see more fairies than princesses at your door tonight. I don't know if its Disney marketing or just a normal shift in preferences, but princesses, the times, they are a changing.

Oh, and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

The Soup Diet: Week Two Report

It's not quite Friday yet, but so far it looks like this week's Soup-for-Lunch menu is shaping up this way:

Monday: Creamless Mushroom Soup
Tuesday: Potato and Leek Soup
Wednesday: Adaptable Azteca Soup
Thursday: Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup
Friday: Pumpkin Salsa Soup

The Soup-for-Lunch Diet is going quite well taste-wise. (Waist-wise, I'm not yet seeing any results.) I love mushrooms, so the mushroom soup was a dream. The potato and leek soup was okay. The spinach and leek soup was pretty darn good. This week was my first time working with leeks. They are a slight pain to clean but taste-wise...I think I might have a new favorite vegetable. The Azteca Soup was outstanding as usual. This is a soup I've investigated and worked on ever since a trip to Guanajuato, Mexico where I dined on Suppa Azteca. Upon return to the U.S. I vowed to recreate the soup as closely as possible. Thanks to the canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I've achieved it. What makes the Azteca Soup "adaptable" is that I brew up a base of pureed onion, tomato, cilantro and chipotle plus chicken broth and then add in tortilla strips, avocado, chicken, beans, fish, etc. depending on what pantry and refrigerator have on hand. This week I adapted it to be a fish soup (avocados are too darn expensive right now). In honor of Halloween I've put Pumpkin Salsa Soup on the menu. It's a new recipe and I'm skeptical, but if the soup turns out scary, it'll still be apropos of the holiday, right?
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Voting in Western PA

During the last presidential election I voted in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, a small town in western Pennsylvania. Western Pennsylvania is under the microscope this election thanks to accusations of racism and a McCain campaign must-win electoral vote strategy.

I thought I'd post on a fond memory of my Pennsylvania voting experience in 2004. At 6pm on a rainy, cold night, I arrived at the small township building that was my assigned polling place and found a parking space among rows of cars and Amish buggies. Inside the polling place I stood amidst a line including a host of Amishmen and women. Indeed, I think the Amish out numbered me and the rest of my "English" kind. Together we stood and waited patiently for the poll workers to find each of our names in the registry. It took a while since the Amish families in the area largely shared the same surnames and were best distinguishable by their addresses. (Also, not every Amish had a driver's license helpfully detailing full name and address information). There were a particularly large amount of Beilers at the polling place. Below is my largely fictionalized re-creation of what happend:

Poll Worker: Name?
Amishman: John Beiler.
Poll Worker: John Amos Beiler? John Ben Beiler? John Daniel Beiler? John Levi Beiler? John Rudy Beiler? John Valentine Beiler?...
Amishman: Just John Beiler. I live on the Bethel Road.
Poll Worker: [running her finger along the list] John Beiler 118 Bethel Road? John Beiler 124 Bethel Road? John Beiler 133 Bethel Road? John Beiler 247 Bethel Road? John Beiler 340 Bethel Road?...
Amishman: No, on the Wilmington side of Bethel.
Poll Worker: Oh, maybe further down here. [running her finger further down the list]. 1370 Bethel Road? 2932 Bethel Road?
Amishman: 4350, down off Joe Lane, first house.
Poll Worker: I have two John Beiler's at that address.
Amishman: That must be my nephew Johnny. He lives at the second house down.

So, yes. The Amish do vote. And I believe they generally vote Republican. I've even seen campaign signs in their yards.

If voting in Pennsylvania intrigues you, I recommend this past weekend's broadcast of This American Life. The radio show took the time over the past two months to travel Pennsylvania and collect stories about the impending election.

Note: there is a real John Beiler. He lives down the road from my parents' house. Don't know why this English is giving a shout-out to an Amish who will never check this blog, but I am!
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

The Soup Diet: Week One Report

This week my roommate and I have endeavored to curb our over-eating by engaging in a self imposed Soup-for-Lunch Diet.

Monday: Red Lentil Soup
Tuesday: Red Lentil Soup
Wednesday: Chocolate Chipotle Chili
Thursday: Carrot & Chickpea Soup
Friday: Frenchless Onion Soup

It is a delicious experiment, which will, (in addition to added gym time) hopefully, yield fruitful awards. If you're wondering about the Frenchless Onion Soup, then, no, it is not a xenophobic political statement. It's French onion soup without the hunk of French bread and gobs of melted cheese...which turns out to be the lowest calorie soup I've ever made. Also, yes, Chocolate Chipotle Chili, tastes as good as it sounds.

So if you have any healthy, broth-based soup suggestions stick them in the comments and I will see if I can add them to next week's Soup-for-Lunch diet.


Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Fly Non-Stop from Alaska to New Zealand!

That's right! Bar-Tailed Godwit Air offers non-stop, free airfare from Alaska to New Zealand! Of course, the flight lasts eight days. There is absolutely no meal service. And checking baggage, while it won't cost you extra, will significantly weigh down your flight time and increase the likelihood of a crash.

Seriously, these birds fly a 7,242 mile migratory path without stopping. You want to learn more about them? Check out this article.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

A Great State Fair

I have attended county fairs including a particularly large one in Ohio and a decent medium sized one in Maryland. I have attended the Pennsylvania Farm Show. And now I have attended the Texas State Fair and I must admit that in size and scope it trumps them all. (Yes, Mom, even the Farm Show).

County and state fairs are special. They have fried foods, baked goods, craft and baking contests, agricultural exhibits, farm equipment and animals---lots of animals and assorted animal related contests. Fairs also have amusement rides. The Texas State Fair has all these ingredients plus food expos, car expos, and a rivalry football game. And everything they have is bigger than what I’ve seen elsewhere. They even have the biggest attendance. Over 3 million people pour in and out of its gates. To manage the crowd the police sit above the crowds in raised platforms, like lifeguards.

And it’s a lot of fun. Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to have several excellent and experienced fair-going guides shepherd me through the Fair’s many attractions. I thank them deeply. After the jump is a list of my favorite experiences and sights.




Things at the fair:

• Giant Room of Poultry (including several "Silkies").
  
• Chicken Fried Bacon (I didn't eat one, but the concept is fascinating).
• Big Tex (a 52 foot tall talking cowboy whose face is pictured above).
  
• Corn Dogs (I ate one. It was goood).
  
• Elsie the Cow (I saw the actual cow. She was heavily medicated).
  
• Giant Butter Sculpture (of King Tut's tomb).
  
• Pie Baking Contest (must figure out how to become a judge).
  
• Quilts
  
• Longhorn Cattle (real ones, but not Bevo, although he was there that weekend).
  
• Brahman Cows (sorry Hindus, I think the Texans do eat them).
  
• Biscuits and Sausage Gravy (I had this for brunch and it was ya-um-eee!).
  
• The Cotton Bowl (we're #1, we're #1, we're #1).
  
• Giant Sand Sculpture (of ancient Egyptian monuments....the King Tut exhibit has rotated through Dallas. It's obviously gone to their heads).
  
• Burnt Orange (did I mention WE'RE NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!!)(*)
  

Things not at the fair:

• Potato Donuts: The Pennsylvania Farm Show still has my (and Mom's) favorite fair food.
  
• Giant Vegetables: Amazingly, as far as I could tell, the Texas State Fair lacked a hall of giant vegetables. So, Canfield Fair, you still have my favorite giant squash.
  

When fair season rolls around in your area, go visit a fair. If you've never been, it's more fun than it sounds. If you've been, there's always a new fried food to discover. Thanks again Texas for a great state fair!

(*) I had to make sure and publish this post today since tomorrow night there is an ever so small chance UT will be forced to relinquish their number one ranking. (Hook 'Em Horns! Beat Mizzou!)


Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

What SNL Did Do: Week 4

How did I do?

• Joe the Plumber. They did this. Indeed, they overdid this.
• "Zero, really?"They didn't do this. Instead they joked about tiny unicorns. Tiny unicorns. I'm serious!
• Fiesty, frustrated, fast-blinking McCain. They did the fast-blinking part.
• Teflon Obama phoning it in because he's ahead in the polls. Nope, they didn't even try to make fun of Obama.

The sketch wasn't very good. I think SNL has satire fatigue as well. They should have scrapped the entire debate sketch and just had Amy and Seth do a 20 minute long weekend up date with "Joe the Plumber" or "a plumber" as a guest commentator. The debate sketch was just odd, talking about tiny imaginary people and unicorns. Not funny. Just odd. Meanwhile, the Weekend Update portion was very funny. Hulu clips and a few more thoughts after the jump.

The not so funny debate sketch:

Weekend Update had a funny running gag: Crazy McCain Rally Lady. They based the character off this woman....

...and came up with this humorous rendition.

The best part of the show was a new segment by Seth and Amy called "We Liked It." I liked it too. Watch for Amy's bit about teachers getting paid worse than plumbers. It's my favorite part.


Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

What Will SNL Do: Week 4

One last time of guessing what aspects of the most recent Presidential debate Saturday Night Live will pick on.  SNL is on again tonight at 9:30pm.  My predictions:

• Joe the Plumber.
• "Zero, really?"
• Fiesty, frustrated, fast-blinking McCain.
• Teflon Obama phoning it in because he's ahead in the polls.

And that's all I've got.  I think I have debate satire fatigue.  Thank goodness satire is not my job.  It is this guy's, and if you read the linked article you'll get an idea of how political satire writing at SNL works.  So watch SNL Weekend Update: Thursday tonight.  (Or watch it in the morning on hulu, like I do).  There should be one last, final debate sketch. Watch and see how accurate my meager predictions are.

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

3rd (and Final) Presidential Debate '08: Enlivening Commentary

The last debate of '08. Join me tonight, 9pm for some pre-debate chatter, some intermittent liveblogging, and some post-debate "analysis." Remember, this is not the end, but just the beginning of intensified mudslinging, pandering, truth-stretching, hoping, changing, reforming, mavericking, etc.

-------------------------------------------------------
Pre Debate Chatter

8:08

Sister T: So it's our last debate night.
SeaBean: It is indeed.
Sister T: Are you sad?
SeaBean: I wonder what else we will have to live blog. Christmas? Ooh, we could do the Macy Day's Parade!!
Sister T: I won't be here.
SeaBean: I won't be here either.
Sister T: I'll be cooking.
SeaBean: So will I.
Sister T:   But because I'll be cooking....
SeaBean:   You won't be able to blog, I know.
Sister T:  I never watch the parade anymore, I'm usually helping mom at the stove.
SeaBean:  My favorite part of the parade is the giant Snoopy balloon.
Sister T:   I like Charlie Browm balloon.
SeaBean:   Heh, he has a huge head.

Sister T: Are we still calling StichtWiggler StitchWiggler?
SeaBean: Sure.
Sister T: But she doesn't have stiches anymore.
SeaBean: But she did, and she still has a very soft shaved bottom from the stitch/surgery incident. Do you wan't to call her fuzz butt?
Sister T: No, that would be cruel.

Sister T: Okay last time I'll ask: what are you expecting or looking forward to tonight?
SeaBean: Scintillating oratory. But we won't get that because, being educated and erudite is looked down on. When did that happen? When did the Republicans switch from being Lincoln-esque educated and eloquent? How did it happen?
Sister T: The Great Depression?
SeaBean: That's just depressing.
Sister T: Well, we might have another one soon.

SeaBean: Why is being smart a bad thing?
Sister T: Why don't you ask Sarah Palin?
SeaBean: I can't. She wouldn't understand the multi-syllable words coming out of my mouth.
Sister T: First of all, she wouldn't even talk to you because you don't work for Fox or conservative talk radio.
SeaBean: It's this school yard crap of mocking the smart people.
Sister T: I think you're projecting.
SeaBean: Probably.


-------------------------------------------------
Live Blogging

9:00 We are on. The last debate starts soon. The candidates will be sitting at a table and the moderator is Bob Schieffer from CBS news. (Hah. ABC news got cut-out of the debate moderating duties)

SeaBean: What part of Alabama is he [Bob Schieffer] from?
Sister T: He's from Austin and Ft. Worth, Texas.
SeaBean: I was close enough.

9:02 First Question: Why is your economic survival plan better than his?

9:04 McCain blames the financial crisis on Fannie and Freddie and home ownership issues. He wants to buy up home mortgages.

SeaBean: You call yourself a Republican, McCain?

9:05 Obama answers and says middle class. Drink!

Sister T: SeaBean, you can't drink tonight.
[SeaBean is recovering from shoulder surgery and is presently easing into the pain-free haze of bliss thanks to the Vicodin pill she just took]
SeaBean: No, but I can snuggle with my puppy StitchWiggler.
StitchWiggler: [grunts in agreement]

9:07 Obama wants to buy up mortgages too but he will renegotiate them first.

9:07 McCain goes on the attack using some dude named Joe Wurzelburger (fact checkers working on that as we speak) and the "higher tax argument" for small business owners like Joe who is a plumber.

9:09 Obama defends and explains his tax plan AGAIN but thankfully for my ears, for the last time.

Sister T: Strange that no matter how many times Obama explains his tax plan, McCain and the American public never seem to "get it."

9:11 Still talking about Joe the Plumber.

Sister T: Joe the Plumber should be our new drinking game.
SeaBean: Umm-hmm
Sister T: Dude, if we were actually drinking to Joe the Plumber, we'd be soooo drunk. Actually, you'd be drunk and high.
SeaBean: Oh, man I'd be catonic. I'd need my stomach pumped.
Sister T: I think you're safe now. They seem to be done talking about Joe the Plumber. I bet Joe the Plumber shows up on SNL.
SeaBean: Heh. He probably will.

9:13 Deficit question from Schieffer: "Aren't you ignoring reality...what will you [specifically] cut back?"

Sister T: Betcha they won't mention anything specific.

9:15 Obama will eliminate programs that "don't work" but doesn't mention which specific programs "don't work." He thinks he's so smart, I'm onto him.

Sister T: Obama just used a three syllable word.
SeaBean: My God, how will the American people understand him?

9:16 McCain attempts to pull a Sarah Palin and not answer the question by returning to his home mortgage talking point. Schieffer calls him on it and won't let him get away with it. AWESOME SHCIEFFER. But then McCain starts talking about energy. Seriously, has he been practicing with Palin?

9:19 McCain talks about an earmark for that "overhead projector" in a Chicago planetarium. Shut up about the overhead projector already. I like planetariums.

9:20 Schieffer: "Can you balance the budget in three years?" McCain: "Sure I can." McCain must have magical powers. And he talks directly to Obama with a great shot: "If you wanted to run against Bush, you should have run four years ago."

9:22 Obama has a pretty good comeback to McCain, parrying the Bush shot, deflecting it to the accusation that on the economy McCain's policies are the same as Bush. He must have practiced that for each debate and been holding it in his back pocket.

9:24 Schieffer asks about the negative tone of their campaigns. He challenges each candidate to repeat the negative attacks to each other's face.

9:25 McCain blames Obama for the negative tone because he refused to do town halls with him........he DOES NOT mention Ayers. Chicken!!! (Smart chicken).

9:27 McCain gets in some good and justifiable digs at Obama for not following through on his Campaign Finance promises.

9:28 Obama's response so far is kind of weak. Though he does shoot down the town hall argument as being ridiculous. Mostly he talks about how they should be talking about the economy (effectively not answering Schieffer's question).

9:30 "Joe the Plumber" rears his head again. Drink!

9:31 Is Obama intentionally not saying Sarah Palin's name? He only refers to her as "your running mate."

9:33 McCain is trapped into defending the people at his rallies. He's speaking to his base, not the independents and soft Obama supporters he needs to reach tonight.

9:35 McCain alludes to Ayers, mentions ACORN and voter fraud in the same sentence (which is MISLEADING. ACORN is charged with voter registration fraud not voter fraud, there is a HUGE difference).

9:37 Obama gives a direct answer about Ayers. I suspect conservative Republicans will still be dissatisfied and claim to "not know who Obama is."

9:38 Obama lists his good associates. It's a decent come-back.

9:39 McCain's still talking about Ayers and ACORN. (stupid! independent voters don't care.)

9:40 Schieffer, thankfully, moves on to a new question: "Why will the country be better off if your running mate becomes vice president?"

9:41 I could tell you what Obama says about Biden, but I know you only want to hear what each of them say about Sarah Palin.

9:44 Schieffer asks Obama if he thinks Palin is qualified to be VP. Obama diplomatically says it's up to the American people. (smooth and safe).

9:46 Schieffer asks about energy. He asks for a specific number of how much the country will reduce foreign oil imports during their first term.

9:47 McCain does not give him a number. He mis-answers the question by saying in 10 years we will be less dependent on foreign oil.

9:49 Obama also mis-answers the question by saying 10 years. Schieffer lets it go.

Sister T: Obama's still doing better with speaking directly to the camera.
SeaBean: [Does not answer, she went to bed, Vicodin fully kicked in].
Sister T: I miss my debate buddy. sniff. sniff.

9:52 McCain accuses Obama of not understanding relations between the U.S. and Columbia because he's never travelled south of the border. Would it help if Obama lived near the border? I hear that works well for Sarah Palin.

9:54 Obama says "actually I do understand Columbia" and then talks about some miniscule Columbia-relations detail. It comes off as effective.

9:56 Schieffer is bored with the trade topic. He switches to Health Care. This is in Obama's wheelhouse, so he is off and running, explaining his health care plan AGAIN. Are you listening America? He's repeating this for like the 10th time.

9:58 This is not in McCain's wheelhouse, he's off to a slow start...building steam...rattling off needed programs...then "Joe the Plumber" comes back. DRINK!

10:00 Heh. Obama speaks into the camera directly to "Joe" telling him he will pay Zero? "Zero, really?" says McCain, sounding like an infomercial. "Yes, really John, Joe pays zero," I imagine Obama retorting "for just three low installments of $9.99, Joe can pay zero."

10:03 Now, McCain talks directly to the camera and "Joe." Boy, I picked the right drinking game tonight.

10:05 Heh. McCain has a nice Freudian slip. He calls Obama "Senator Government." :-)

10:06 Schieffer asks about SCOTUS [SCOTUS = my shorthand for Supreme Court of the United States] appointments and Roe v. Wade. McCain thinks Roe v. Wade is a bad decision, it should be left to the states (a position I just don't understand. legislating abortion affects Constitutional rights and thus challenges to state laws are appealable to SCOTUS, so it will always have a chance of coming to SCOTUS). McCain will not apply a litmus test to judges, but will only appoint strict contructionists...not that that's a litmus test...and then he talks about voting for Ginsberg and Breyer who are definitely NOT strict constructionists.

10:08 Obama also doesn't like litmus tests. He also makes my point about how abortion is simply not an issue that can be confined on a state by state basis. He also pulls out the Ledbetter case (suing for women's equal pay under Title VII). Obama's trying to rope in and solidify his female supporters.

10:11 McCain attacks Obama's Illinois voting record on abortion.

10:12 Obama defends the attacks. Obama segues into the "common ground" language from his convention speech on preventing unintended pregnancies. He said it prettier in his speech, but I still appreciate and applaud the sentiment.

10:15 McCain insults Obama's eloquence again. McCain evidently doesn't like three syllable words.

10:16 Schieffer asks the last question. It's on education.

10:17 Obama talks about spending more money and reforming education. Gee, I'd like to have his optimistic bottomless pockets.

10:18 McCain says education "is the civil rights issue of the this century." This is also language swiped from his convention speech, and I still don't get what he's talking about.

10:19 McCain talks about charter schools and having uncertified military teachers. Seriously, he advocates having uncertified teachers. I'll have to look into this "troops to teachers" program.

10:24 McCain keeps mentioning Sarah Palin and autism. Does baby Trig have autism too?

10:27 McCain gives a closing statement. Will he mention his good friend "Joe the Plumber." I don't think he did. What up? No love for "Joe" in your closing, Senator?

10:29 Obama closing statement: "Our brighter days are still ahead, but..." Yeah, yeah, we've heard this before. Will you say good night to "Joe"? No? No free plumbing for you.

10:31 Schieffer signs off with something his mama always said: "Go vote now, it'll make you feel big and strong." Heh.

10:32 It's over. Done. Stick forks in it. No more debates in '08. Like Schieffer just said. GO VOTE!!!!!!!!!!!!

--------------------------------------------------
Thank you, thank you, all who have read this far. Debate commentary and live blogging is over for 2008. Hope you enjoyed it. Once again, thanks to SeaBean and StitchWiggler. I wish them the best in their respective surgical recoveries. Each are in a blissful sleep right now, and that's where I'll be headed shortly as well. Thanks again for reading. Comments of any type are always welcome.



Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Political Fashion Analysis

On the Newsweek website I found this fascinating article examining the differences in how McCain and Obama wear their ties. Obama wears a slightly casual four-in-hand knot. McCain wears a classic, more complex Windsor knot. The article goes into entertaining detail about the motivations behind the differences.

Note, I have no idea if the above picture reflects those particular knots. I'm a single girl. I know nothing about men's neckwear. I'm also not a sailor, so visually identifying the differences between knots is beyond me.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Canada Wins!

The election results are in and the winner is......(find out after the jump)



The Conservatives! They didn't get the majority government they wanted (falling 12 seats short), but considering how hard and heavy the economic crisis came at the end of their strategically early election, I think, that as the incumbent party, they still have to be sighing relief. All they have to do is look south at McCain attempting to find traction amid slipping polls and be happy that they didn't get swept in the tidal wave of economic woes dragging down the U.S. incumbent party. Plus, even though they didn't win a majority of the seats in Parliament, they won more seats than last time.

The Conservative win likely spells bad news for the environmentally minded. The Liberals' touted Green Shift wll have to, well, "shift" as they say in Canada's mother land. Also, the Green Party won zero seats.

Finally, voter turn out was low.....for Canada. They got 60% turnout. Let's see if we in the U.S. can come close to 60% this year.

So one election down, and three weeks to go before the big U.S. election. Are you ready?

Here's one last Canada fun fact to tide you over: An electoral district in Canada is called a riding.  Again, who knew!

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Canada Votes! Who Knew?

Are you getting a little bored with the U.S. Presidential Election? Debates making you sleepy? Negative ads getting repetitive? The drama gone now that Obama is widening his vote margin in the polls? Or are you just looking for A CHANGE? Fear not, and look to the North! where there is another election ripe for drama and your attention. It's got three more major candidates than we have. It's got Liberals. It's got Conservatives. It's got Greens. It's got Canadian French. It's got newer Democrats.

And it's TODAY!

Canada chooses a Prime Minister today. Who knew! What with following the presidential election for over a year now, I forgot to pay attention to Canada which has been holding a national election campaign for the past month. (Hmmm. A one month long national election campaign. I bet it's cheaper when you do it that way. But probably less fun.) So if you have trouble waiting three more Tuesdays to see some election results, take a break and live vicariously through our northern neighbors. (Especially recommended for Republican/McCain supporters because polling shows the Canadian Conservative party eking out a win over the Liberal party). More fun Canadian Federal Election facts when you click through.....



Thanks to wikipedia, I learned that Canada held two Federal Election debates for this election. One in English and one in French...which blows my narrow little American mind. Bilingual debates! We demand so little of our presidential candidates.

I also learned that the Environment is a HUGE issue in the election, and is a very important issue to Canadians. They are so wacky up there. The issue even has it's own name: The Green Shift. Sounds like a sidekick to the Green Lantern.

By the way, if you never had or have (like me) somewhat forgotten any lesson on comparative politics, Canada has a Parliamentary form of government, which means they don't have a President like we do. They essentially elect party leaders who, if their party gets more votes than any of the other parties, becomes Prime Minister. So that's why their elections are pretty much completely different (and dramatically shorter) than ours.

For Canadian Federal Election Campaign Coverage, check out these Canadian newspapers:

• The Globe and Mail. (Includes polling updates in the bottom right corner.)
• The National Post. (Note that they also provide special coverage of the U.S. Election--We rule the world!!)
• The Star.

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Sarah, you are not alone.

Sarah, meet Stephane, he feels your pain. A few weeks ago you suffered through a poor interview experience with Katie Couric. For consolation, Sarah, check out Canadian Prime Minister hopeful Stephane Dion. He badly, badly flubbed an interview on Canadian television. The interviewer had to repeat to him three times a question about the economic crisis.

But it looks like one of his opponents, Stephen Harper, and the rest of his Conservative party overdid their glee at Dion's flub. And now there is a backlash of Canadian opinion against Harper for having too much Schadenfreude. This is the problem with shorter elections in Canada. Less practice. When Sarah flubbed, Obama knew to ignore it and let the Pundits and SNL express the Schadenfreude glee.

So, Sarah, take heart, there are a lot of politicians giving inept answers all over this glorious continent!
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

What SNL Did Do: Week 3

So how did I do?

• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators won't follow the time rules. Oh yeah, they did that, but I thought the Tom Brokaw portrayal could have been pissier.
• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators won't follow the flashing lights. They didn't add the flashing lights element. I think the set was too small for that to work.
• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators got in the way of his teleprompter. They did this. And they did it very well.
• McCain pacing haphazardly in the background. And in the foreground. They did it very well.
• McCain laughing at his own jokes but no one else does. They didn't do this. They did the "that one" joke instead. I thought they wouldn't go after the "that one" joke because of the racial undertones but they attacked the joke appropriately and made it about McCain's antipathy towards Obama. Well done SNL.
• McCain mentioning the overhead projector. Nope. They didn't do this.
• Obama straight arming McCain when he tries to interrupt Obama. Didn't do this either.
• Obama telling Brokaw off and following whatever time rules he pleases. Nope.

The best joke, other than a wandering McCain was the "What will you do to ensure the Cubs never lose the pennant series again" question. They still can't find a way to make fun of Obama...just the negative attacks against him, i.e., "I can say Ayers is my best friend because I'm ahead in the polls." But it still wasn't that funny, more amusing than funny. And what was with the "I was abducted by aliens joke?" Anyway. Thats my scorecard for this week. If you want a better idea of what I'm talking about, click through and watch the sketch via hulu.





Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

What Will SNL Do: Week 3

This week Saturday Night Live gets an earlier shot at mocking the most recent Presidential Debate. For the month of October SNL is going "prime time" on Thursdays. Thursday SNL premiers tonight at 9:30 EST. Will they mock Tuesday's Presidential Debate? I hope so. Here are my guesses.

• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators won't follow the time rules.
  
• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators won't follow the flashing lights.
  
• Tom Brokaw acting pissy because the Senators got in the way of his teleprompter.
  
• McCain pacing haphazardly in the background.
  
• McCain laughing at his own jokes but no one else does.
• McCain mentioning the overhead projector.
• Obama straight arming McCain when he tries to interrupt Obama. 
• Obama telling Brokaw off and following whatever time rules he pleases.

And that's pretty much it. As you can see from my guesses, I thought the funniest part of the debate was Tom Brokaw's bad mood, and I'm still having a hard time poking fun at Obama's performance.  The dude just plays it too cool and safe.  Maybe SNL could mock that by having Obama come out wearing sun glasses, have him sit glamorously on his stool with his legs akimbo and then rise and swagger when he answers a question.  We'll see what Saturday Night Live does with it, if they do anything. And we'll also see what "prime time" SNL is all about.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Dukakis Still Looks Like My Dad...

...and it still freaks me out. My Dad's not even Greek. My Dad's not even a Democrat. My Dad voted for HW Bush...emphatically. Yet, Dukakis is my Dad's Doppelgaenger (except my dad's nose is thinner and my dad is better looking).

Seriously, that's a picture of Michael Dukakis, not my father.
Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

Search and Rewatch the Debate

Here's a nifty online tool from the New York Times. They have cleverly arranged it so that you can search for a word or phrase, a particular moment, a particular question, etc. from both the first and second Presidential Debate scripts and then immediately view that portion of the debate. It's great. Especially if you missed something that everyone is talking about. (For example, a search of "hair transplants" reveals McCain talking at minute 51:20).

Check it out here!

Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!

2nd Presidential Debate '08: Enlivening Commentary

It's the second round of McCain vs. Obama. While there will be no live blogging tonight, there will be pre-debate chatter, and possibly, if all parties are still awake and functioning, post-debate analysis(*). Back joining me this evening will be SeaBean accompanied by StitchWiggler. And as a special enticement for you to read, we will have a SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST joining us. Who? you ask. Click through around 9pm tonight and you'll find out.

(*)Using the term "analysis" in its loosest sense.
-----------------------------------------------------------
This is a "Town Hall" debate so it'll look a little different tonight.
The Rules:

• The questions will be culled from a group of 100 to 150 uncommitted likely voters in the audience and another one-third to come via the Internet. Brokaw selects which questions to ask from written queries submitted prior to the debate.
  
• The Gallup Organization makes sure the questioners reflect the demographic makeup of the nation.
• An audience member isn’t allowed to switch questions and will not be allowed a follow-up either. His or her microphone will be turned off after the question is read and a camera shot will only be shown of the person asking — not reacting.
• The moderator, Tom Brokaw, may not ask followups or make comments.
• McCain and Obama will be provided with director’s chairs, but they’re also allowed to stand. They can’t roam past their “designated area” marked on the stage and are not supposed to ask each other direct questions.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-Debate Chatter

8:01pm
Sister T: It's just me and StitchWiggler right now. SeaBean and THE SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST are delayed on urgent shopping business. The debate won't start for an hour, but I've got PBS on all the same. The show NOVA is on. The theme is Arctic Dinosaurs...in case you are interested.

8:13
Sister T: StitchWigger, what are your expectations for tonight's Town Hall debate?
StitchWiggler: [utter silence]
Sister T: Yep, I'm just no good at holding a conversation with a dog. I'm much more of a cat person.

8:35
Sister T: SeaBean and THE SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST have arrived.
SeaBean: We have arrived!
Sister T: Would you like the honor of introducing THE SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST?
SeaBean: Why yes, I'd be honored. Our special guest is MamaBaer, spelled that way because of her ties to Germany, even though she isn't German.
MamaBaer: Auntie Lulu says I'm German, she introduces me as her German Sister.
Sister T: MamaBaer is SeaBean's mama.
SeaBean: Uh-huh.

8:40.
Sister T: What are you looking for in tonight's debate?
SeaBean: I want to see how Obama does without a teleprompter.
Sister T: He didn't use a teleprompter in the last debate.
SeaBean: I didn't see it.
Sister T: This debate is a Town Hall hall so he'll have to move around and not use a teleprompter.
MamaBaer: You didn't watch the fist debate?
SeaBean: No. I am a horrible American.
MamaBear: Did you watch the VP debate?
SeaBean: Yep. But it was on a Thursday when lots of people watch.
Sister T: Did we ever watch it! You should read the blog.

8:43
SeaBean: Ugh! The discussions this week at work have been outrageous. Because I don't care for Sarah Palin, at work they automatically think I'm pro Hillary.
MamaBaer: That's a stupid implication.
Sister T: I think the important question is who StitchWiggler would vote for.
SeaBean: PDS.
MamaBaer: PDS?
SeaBean: StitchWiggler is a socialist, she keeps me honest.

8:45
Sister T: What's the biggest way anybody could screw up tonight?
SeaBean: Someone could trip and fall on a cattle prod and electrocute himself.
MamaBaer: That's very far fetched.
SeaBean: Well, it's the very worst screw up I can think of.

8:46
MamaBaer: I got my Florida absentee ballot and there are 10 people running for president. I like getting the absentee ballot so I can get a good picture of the issues.
SeaBean: Do people ever ask you your opinion while you are working polls?
MamaBaer: They do, but I am not allowed to answer them. I just smile and nod so they think I'm agreeing with them.
SeaBean: Have you ever witnessed a poll worker giving an opinion?
MamaBaer: No.
SeaBean: Would you have to report it?
MamaBaer: Not as far as I know.

8:47
SeaBean: So as a poll worker what do you do?
MamaBaer: I stuff the ballot box.
SeaBean: So you stick it in?
MamaBaer: Oh no, everything is private and secret

[detailed discussion of balloting measures]

SeaBean: So when you stuff the ballot box what do you mean?
MamaBaer: I lied. I just thought it would be cool to say that.

---------------------------------------------------------------
Quasi Live-Blogging
I reinstituted the live blogging because other than a buying-up-home-mortgages plan by John McCain and an expand-the-peace-corps plan by Barak Obama neither candidate said anything new and it turned out I really didn't need to pay that close attention.

9:29 McCain talks about cutting defense spending by getting rid of government contractors. SeaBean is a defense contractor.

SeaBean: Nooooooo. My job!!!!

9:33 Obama talks about expanding the Peace Corps across the country.

SeaBean: He's talking about creating the CCC again.
Sister T: McCain keeps pacing around back there. He's making me nervous. Like a caged tiger.

9:35 Obama does some nuanced talking about scalpels and hatchets, the audience's eyes glaze over.

9:35 McCain accuses Obama of being Herbert Hoover and of encouraging protectionism because he will raise taxes.......I'm not following that logic.

9:37 McCain talks about his tax breaks for middle class families with children.

SeaBean: What about those in the middle class who don't have children?

9:38: Obama: "the straight talk express lost a wheel on that one"

9:39: Obama explains his tax plan in detail.....eyes glaze over.

9:40: McCain thinks fixing social security is easy. He claims it's been done before.

Sister T: If it got fixed before why do we need to fix it again?
MamaBaer: It was a bandaid.

9:42 Moderator, Tom Brokaw, is getting quite pissy about the Senators not sticking to the alloted time rules.

9:43 McCain answers a question about the environment. As bad as the economic/financial crisis is, an environment question is, nonetheless, a breath of fresh air.

MamaBaer: Hah, he forgot her [the question asker's] name.
Sister T: What was it?
MamaBaer: Ingrid.
Sister T: Pretty name. I think McCain is just throwing out eco-friendly words.
MamaBaer: Could be.
Sister T: I think we should change up the drinking game to every time you hear a loose metaphor.
SeaBean: Or simile.
Sister T: Brokaw is sooo upset.

9:47: Brokaw lectures them about following the green, yellow, red time lights.

9:48: McCain talks about funding research and development. SeaBean is still upset he talked about eliminating her job....which is government defense contract funded research and development.

9:50 Discussion turns back to Health Care.

Sister T: What is McCain doing back there? He keeps walking around and smiling at the group of people around them. Maybe he's winking at the crowd like Sarah Palin. The winking worked well for her.

9:51 Obama still droning on about Health Care.

9:52 Red light, Red light. Obama should stop. He's not. Brokaw is probably freaking out.

9:53 The digital signal bleeps in and out on the TV screen.

Sister T: Damn digital TV!

9:53 McCain talks about putting medical records online.

SeaBean: That's a terrible idea. It works horribly for the military.
MamBaer: I agree.

Disclosure: MamaBaer is an Army wife and SeaBean is an Army brat. They know the benefits and the pitfalls of federally funded health care.

9:54 McCain talks about getting hair plugs...as a joke...that no one laughs at. Was that a Joe Biden dig?

9:55 Question from Brokaw: is health care a right, priviledge or responsibility. McCain says responsibility, but I sort of think that when he elaborates on what he means by responsibility he ends up defining health care as a right.

9:56 Obama says it is a right.

9:57 Obama basically throws out the debate rules, tells Brokaw to shove off and just starts talking. (He doesn't do it as rudely as I make it sound).

Sister T: McCain is up and walking around again!
MamaBaer: Probably because Obama's got a red light.

10:00 Debate questions turn to national security.

10:01 McCain: "we don't have time for on the job training"

Sister T: [cough!] Sarah Palin [cough!]

10:02 Obama brings the national security talk back to the economy. Smart move.

10:04 Brokaw asks about the use of troops and force in humanitarian interventions. Obama answers that by talking about a "moral interest" in international conflicts. McCain doesn't answer the question.

10:06 Obama sits patiently while McCain talks. He looks more calm and relaxed in contrast to McCain's pacing. This could be a problem for McCain.

Sister T: So does McCain support human intervention or not?
MamaBaer: He supports thinking about it and not being a hot head.

10:09 Audience member "Katie" asks Obama about cross-border raids into Pakistan.

MamaBaer: A little too late for that question. [Bush is doing that right now]

10:15 McCain says "bomb-bomb-bomb-Iran" was just a joke. I don't think Iran's laughing.

10:16 Brokaw: "if either of you becomes president...as one of you will"

10:19 McCain doesn't think there will be another cold war with Russia, and he really, really, really doesn't like Putin.

MamaBaer: Wasn't this supposed to be a one minute question?
Sister T: The rules have sort of been thrown out the window at this point.

Sister T: Putin's name makes me think of turkey in German. [Disclosure: "puten" is a word used to refer to Turkey meat in Germany]
SeaBean: Me too.
MamaBaer: Hah. All I think of is "rootin' tootin' putin"

10:24 Brokaw asks if Russia will become an evil empire.

SeaBean: very Rage Against the Machine.
Sister T: very Star Wars.

10:25 Finally, an Iran question about what to do if Isreal and Iran got into a war.

10:26 McCain won't wait for that pesky UN Security Council. He'll go all in.

Sister T: what about speaking softly? he's skipping right ahead to the stick.

10:29 Last question from some internet user in New Hampshire: What don't you know and how will you learn it. Obama makes a joke about marriage and talks seriously about unexpected challenges and then talks about "hope" and "change" stuff not related to the question.

10:32 McCain gives an equally lame answer. He doesn't know what all of us don't know. He talks about unprecedented challenges in areas we don't even recognize on the map.

MamaBaer: That's because there's not enough [geography] education in this country.

10:33 It's over. Two down, one more to go. But before he closes, Brokaw gets pissy with the Senators for blocking his sightline to the teleprompter.

---------------------------------------------------------
Post Debate Analysis

Not much analysis here. We're too tired I guess. Thanks for reading. Come back for the next debate where there will be more chatter and some more attempts at live blogging. Special thanks to MamaBaer for her input and insight. And no thanks to StitchWiggler who slept through the whole thing. Humpf!



Click Here To Read Full Post And Comments!