Wednesday, June 29, 2011

#5: Get Contacts Again

I missed contacts. I used to wear them all the time, but then when I took the Security Position with the Department, that was a third shift position and if there was one thing I knew about me and contact lenses it was that the later it was and the more tired I was, the more they bothered me. So I let my perscription lapse and managed to get a box secured before I went to Florida last week. What with trying to find a better allergy medication, it's been a mixed bag so far and I may have to go back to tighten up my prescription a bit, but it's very nice to have contact lenses back...

Hmmm... maybe Lasik in a couple of years? I'm not sure if I'm hip to the idea of getting my eyeball shot at with a laser, but we'll see how things go... not the worst idea in the world.

UPDATED: I've had mixed results so far. I'm going to see the Doc on the 11th to see about getting these horrible allergies under control and I might go back to the Eye Doc to get a stronger prescription. But I won't give up!

#9: Visit All 50 States

This personal goal of mine will be something of a work in progress. After all, it's not like I have the cash just to up and leave and go off and get this done all at once. No, it'll take a bit of work and I'm fine with that. As for my personal definition of what 'visit' entails, I go with the loosest possible one I could come up with: if I'm physically in any given state, that counts. Even if it's only for a minute or so. So without further ado...

Florida
I'd like to go back to Florida- only next time, it's going to be somewhere with a beach and somewhere that's not Orlando. Nothing against Orlando- it's the lightning capitol of the United States and to be sure, there was some spectacular lightning on hand, but as a city, it's a lot like your drunk, slightly slutty college friend. Don't roll your eyes- you know the one I mean. Everyone has one- male or female, the friend you love to death and can have all kinds of fun with- whether it's rated G, PG, PG-13 or even R- but there are always those nights when you go out and have so much fun that you spend waaaaaay too much money and wake up the next morning, stumble out into your living room and find them sprawled out on your living room floor wearing nothing but a tube sock and you get to remember exactly what you did with all those drinking straws and all that jello the night before.

Yeah, that's pretty much Orlando in a nutshell. It's expensive, inconvinient, but if you're willing to find a happy, zen-like place where you can live with that- or at least stave off road rage until you reach a very tall, very alcoholic drink you can have a lot of fun there.

I'd like to have a long talk with everyone south of the Mason-Dixon line. Seriously now- maybe it's just a Texas and a Central Florida thing, but y'all need to do something about your urban sprawl. It took FOREVER to get ANYWHERE in Orlando- everything was always miles away from where you were, so that means a lot of driving and since it's summer, everyone and their mother was also driving- usually to DisneyWorld- but it made traffic a constant nightmare.

And then there's the titanic House of Mouse itself: what a soul-sucking money pit the place must be. Just going near the place convinced me of two things: first I'm going to do my utmost to convince my children that non-Disney cartoons are WAY cooler than Disney cartoons. (Future children, remember: Balto? Rover Dangerfield? All Dogs Go To Heaven? Land Before Time? WAY better...) And secondly, when I lose that battle, I'm going to have to knock over a bank just to afford the place. I shudder to think what your average family of four would pay- just in admission! That doesn't include the hassle of hotels, airfare and food... Disney may well be where all your dreams come true, but I wasn't aware my dreams were so damn expensive...

Aside from the not-at-all small inconviniences of Orlando, there's a lot more to Florida- some of which I actually liked: the heat was wonderful. It wasn't a dry, desert heat but it wasn't an oppressive Midwestern heat either- it was the perfect balance between the two. Hot, but not scorchingly so. Humid, but not swimmingly so and everything seems to be drenched in that sun-dappled white tropical glow that was extremely pleasant. But the place is also flatter than a pancake. Upon further reflection, i guess that makes sense- after all, the state is essentially a series of swaps with dry land flung about where Mother Nature felt like it- but the lack of topography bothered me. It was disconcerting to not be able to see where you were going at all- to not have even the hint of a hill. I thought Nebraska was the flattest place I'd ever been. But I was wrong...

What I loved most about the place though, was the hints of the glorious melange of Latin and Carribbean flavor which seemed to lurk off to the south. There was Cuban food, Dominican food- all kinds of food you would pass and whether as Brazil continues to emerge as an economic power, we're going to see more and more Brazilian influences and food sneaking into our frontier states, it was amazing how much Portuguese I heard around the place. Beautiful, musical Portuguese! Little bubbles of joy like champagne popping up everywhere. As a state, it seems like it's more of a bridge to Latin America and countries south of us than other border states like Texas are and that gives Florida a completely different flavor than any other state I've been too.

Time to brush up on my Spanish and my Portuguese- take a few salsa classes then I think I'll have to take my talents to South Beach and really experience the Sunshine State.

By my count Florida is state #33 visited- I think I might have been overly generous in prior counts and included Maine, but as I honestly don't remember going to Maine and lack photographic proof to the contrary, reluctantly, I'll have to count them out. But 33 down, 17 to go!

No American Girl

Tom Petty has told Michele Bachmann not to use his song 'American Girl' at campaign events...

I wish someone out there would do something more in depth on this. How does the process work? Which rockers like Republicans- which ones (most of them probably) like Democrats and which ones just don't give a damn? It'd be interesting to find out more...

I know in the UK, come election time the parties usually find a song tha represents their campaign 'theme' or whatever- I seem to recall one of Blair's elections using some sappy R and B song by a band whose name I can't remember by the name of 'Lifted.' It was a totally lame song.

Hmmm...

This, poli-sci nerds is fascinating. With the looming crisis about our nation's debt ceiling and neither Republicans nor Democrats willing to make the necessary compromises to reach a long term budget deal (another argument for a 3rd Party in this country if I ever heard one- DuVerger be damned!) There's now a new, nerdy wrinkle in the debt ceiling debate that, surprisingly looks to be a fairly intelligent rebuttal by the Democrats:

Is the debt ceiling constitutional to begin with?
Hmmm... consider, kids the 14th Amendment-the fourth section of which reads:
The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.

Reading that, I think the Democrats have a good argument to at least present in this mess- however, I'm not crazy about the idea of Democrats and Republicans making political hay out of the already weak and sclerotic economy. Whatever the solution is- and there's no shortage of right answers, it's going to require painful sacrifices on the part of both parties. Which means that sacred cows on both sides will undoubtedly have to be BBQ'd on the Weber Grill of fiscal sanity.

So, fascinating argument- but not too crazy about where this could be leading.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Waterloo, Winterset- Who Knows The Diff?

Apparently not Michele Bachmann... she had a little flub launching her campaign this morning invoking the spirit of Waterloo's very own John Wayne.

Unfortunately, the John Wayne that comes from Waterloo is the creepy clown serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

Marion Michael Morrison- better known as John Wayne- the actor was born in Winterset.

Ooops!

Obviously kids, it's a flub- but not much of a flub. Not like Newt Gingrich who lost half his staff- and kids, although I can't think of one single reason I'd ever consider voting for Bachmann, I'm at least willing to take her seriously as a candidate- and of all you should too. She could win.

Monday, June 20, 2011

What Is Dying?

My Grandmother passed away about a month and a half ago now and last night, I came across a program from the funeral which had this on the back:

What is dying?

A ship sails and I stand watching

till she fades on the horizon,

and someone at my side

says, "She is gone".

Gone where? Gone from my sight,

that is all; she is just as

large as when I saw her...

the diminished size and total

loss of sight is in me, not in her,

and just at the moment

when someone at my side

says "she is gone", there are others

who are watching her coming,

and other voices take up the glad shout,

"there she comes!" ...and that is dying.


I'm not normally a huge fan of poetry, but this, I thought, was perfect...

Saturday, June 18, 2011

30 For 30

I had one of these lists somewhere, I swear... I've been fruitlessly searching my Facebook notes to find it, but haven't come up with it yet- it's probably vanished into the cyber-ether or is currently being stored in Mark Zuckerberg's super-duper secret cyber vault somewhere in Facebook's headquarters in California. Either way, I think I need to generate another one of these lists- and this time, keep it safe on my blog!

The idea is simple- 30 personal milestones and goals that I'd like to achieve before I turn 30!

1. Finish My Novel
2. Get Another Tattoo
3. Publish My Novel (conventionally would be preferred, but I might be open to Kindle.)
4. Get Something Pierced Again... (I'm thinking labret. Thoughts anyone?)
5. Get Contacts Again (Eye appointment on Monday! Hopefully this will be done SOON.)
6. Go Skydiving
7. Go to a Twins Game
8. Kick-ass Road Trip to Canada to see the Winnipeg Jets (or whomever they're going to be) play...
9. Visit All 50 States (or failing all 50, get to the lower 48 at least.)
10. Lose 30 to 40 pounds... (whatever gets me back down to the 190-200 range- and maintain it!)
11. Train for a Triathalon. I know that seems totally nuts, but I love cycling, I can run and I could learn how to swim better.
12. Attend the Brainerd Ice Fishing Extravaganza
13. Go to a Music Festival... (either 80/35 or Lollapalooza? Farm Aid?)
14. Attend the Iowa Caucuses. (I've never actually done this. I did it in Minnesota, but not Iowa.)
15. Read Ulysses by James Joyce- and understand it.
16. Read something by Faulkner- and understand it.
17. Re-read The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby- and try and appreciate them.
18. Watch, understand and appreciate a rugby game, a cricket game and an Aussie rules football game.
19. Attend a Premier League game... (this would involve going back to the UK. Excellent!)
20. If number 19 falls a little short, attending a Major League Soccer game would be awesome.
21. Attend a Civil War Re-Enactment/Commemorations of the 150th Anniversary of the War
22. Expand our backyard patio, put in a pergola and a fire pit
23. Finish off our bathroom, re-floor and repaint our master bedroom
24. Go back to Europe- Spain, Portugal, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Greece and Cyprus are all on my wish list.
25. Become a father- I know this is dependent on any number of factors beyond my control, but I think trying should be a lot of fun... ;-)

26. Learn How To Make Bread from Scratch
27. Become a good amateur bartender
28. I'd like to take my wife on a real honeymoon
29. Improve my foreign language skills
30. I'd like to save up and get a subscription to The Economist. Probably the best news magazine out there.

My 30th Birthday is 812 days away... stay tuned to see how many I can scratch off this list. I think most of them are pretty attainable.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Here's Bachmann!

The Republican Posse of Candidates had a debate in New Hampshire tonight and Michelle Bachmann stole the show by announcing that she was running for President. If elected, I believe she'd be the first Representative to make the jump from the House to the White House since James Garfield in 1888- though I'm not sure I'd want to mention that too many times. It didn't exactly end well for President Garfield.

But- it sounds like Romney didn't hurt himself, the rest of the field didn't hurt Romney and Bachmann stole the headlines. So big boost for her- slap for Pawlenty for not having the cojones to go after Romney (but there's plenty of time for that) and if the rest of the field wasn't taking Bachmann seriously, they should start doing so right now.

Bachmann has Tea Party and Social Conservative appeal, can fire up the GOP base in a huge way, has survived several extremely well-funded attempts to defeat her, is telegenic as all giddy-up and most importantly of all, can raise serious cash. Once she gets going, she could easily turn into a juggernaut and I'm telling you right now, she could win Iowa. If she follows that up with a credible finish in New Hampshire she could go into South Carolina as the anti-Romney and then it's off to the races. I will say it again: if you don't take her seriously, stop doing that right now. She could get the nomination.

Of course there are two big question marks hanging above the Republican race right now: Rick Perry and Sarah Palin. Both of which could turn this race completely on its head...

It's The Caprice for CR!



The Cedar Rapids Police Department is switching to the Chevy Caprice PPV. I think it's going to be interesting see what places like Des Moines do over the next couple of years as the Crown Vic is phased out and other car companies jockey to break Ford's monopoly on the Law Enforcement vehicle market- I know UIPD went to Tahoe's... most, if not all Sheriff's Departments in Iowa seem to be firmly set on Chevy Impalas. I've seen a few State Patrol Dodge Chargers, but I think this will be a slow process over the next few years as police cars are damn expensive to outfit- and that's after you buy the actual car itself.

No word on what Iowa City or Coralville are switching too yet- I've seen an ICPD Tahoe floating around, but that could just be your run of the mill command vehicle for Supervisors and the like.

Either way, it's the end of an era as the now iconic Crown Vic is slowly phased out. Interestingly enough though, I did notice on the new Hawaii 5-0, I believe they use a new Camaro as their police vehicle. Where they put prisoners or a computer in that thing I have no idea, but it certainly looks extremely badass.

Hmmmm...

...this is interesting.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Almost, But Not Quite...

Sounds like the Turkish electorate is OK with Prime Minister Erdogan and his party for another term, however, they're not willing to hand them the keys to the car just yet- as the AK failed to achieve the number of seats necessary to re-write the country's constitution however they please...

In general, I think that's a good thing. I know there are Conservatives out there that see the spread of perfidious Islamism whereever they look, but Erdogan has been doing OK with their economy from what I can tell and people seem generally content with the AK's governance thus far.

It will be interesting to see what happens should they ever get the seats they need to really start making changes to the Constitution. The Turkish Military has been fairly non-interventionist for a number of years now, but go too far and it'd be interesting to see what might happen.

Oscar, take note...

Watched a little bit of the Tony Awards tonight while flipping back and forth to the Heat-Mavs game (I didn't want to watch too long and jinx the Mavs- apparently that worked.) Anyway, I found the Tony Awards to be generally awesome. I could really care less about musical theater or plays or anything like that, but the awards ceremony itself was fresh, fun and kept things moving at a nice clip. Which stands in stark contrast to the stuffy, long-winded Oscars...

Oscar, take note- you should do it like the Tonys do.

Shhh! No One Tell The Republicans...

Beligum now has the dubious distinction of going the longest period of time from elections without forming a government... it's been a year. And they still have no government.

That's not say that people aren't showing up to work. The last government has just stayed on in office as a caretaker administration while various attempts are made to cobble together a coailtion, but so far it's slow going. There's the French-speaking part and the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium and the twain, so far, have yet to meet...

Ha!

Dallas SHUT DOWN Miami tonight and it's awesome! I don't usually care that much about basketball and care even less about professional basketball, but this just made my night!

Don't get me wrong: I think LeBron is a great player and I think he and Miami will come back and win multiple titles- they're relatively young, so I think they'll be back. What I didn't like was his headlong bolt from Cleveland so he could 'take his talents to South Beach' all in the name of winning titles. I get that for a professional athlete, winning the big one is what it's all about, but at the same time, the guy is younger than I am. It took Jordan how many years to get it right in Chicago? A lot- and it says something that players like Nowitzki and a lot of other Dallas players stuck with their team and worked their asses off until they got it right! And it took time, but winning it all has got to be all the sweeter, because all that hard work paid off- and paid off big tonight.

I'll be the first to admit that there's a lot I don't get about basketball- I'm still trying to decode the whole fouling thing and to be honest when people get called for something I'm probably just going to shrug and say 'meh' because I didn't see what the foul was- I'm working on that, believe me... but I do know that basketball, more than any other sport in this country is a sport that demands instantaneous results! And that's a trend that's been getting worse and worse every year. There were players back in the day like Reggie Miller or Patrick Ewing that stuck with teams their whole careers and didn't win, but somehow that's changed now- somehow, people have got to do everything, say anything and go anywhere to win that title.

But not necessarily... I love that Dallas won! I think it's a butt-load of vindication for players like Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki who have been working their asses off year after year trying to get better, trying to be the best and FINALLY their hard work pays off. I could go on all night about how this rehabilitates Nowitski's image and puts in the conversation of basketball's upper elite (I mean his 4th Quarter play this series? AWESOME. MONSTROUS!) But most importantly of all, I think Dallas winning shows the basketball world that it doesn't necessarily have to be about instant results all the time. Sometimes loyalty to a team and hard work can pay off. Dallas proved that tonight.

Congrats to the Mavs! They earned this.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Los Angeles Vikings?

What is it about Los Angeles and the Medium White North? Why do those crazy Angelenos have to steal every sports franchise they can get their hands on direct from Minnesota? Bad enough the North Stars went to Dallas- but the Vikings goes to Los Angeles- unthinkable! Because you know what would happen, right? Look what happened to the Lakers- they got to Los Angeles and took right off.

Grumbling aside, I think the Vikings are staying put. It sounds like Ramsey County is all in with the Arden Hills site and the state is willing to pony up some cash so I think they can iron out those details during the Special Session and get this thing nailed down once and for all. Only question remains is what they're going to do with the Metro Dome itself. I say MLS franchise- anyone with me?

But the Los Angeles Vikings should remain just a dream...

I hope.

Let's Go Canucks! (And Mavs!)

The Canucks are one win away from the Stanley Cup and the Dallas Mavericks are one win away from an NBA Title and I'm hoping both teams wrap things up in their respective Game 6's. Not having the cable like we used to, I haven't had the opportunity to watch a lot of hockey and I'm still not that big of a fan of NBA basketball, but I will say that I tend to root for teams that haven't won it before. (Such as Vancouver...)

But I will also say that I'm not a huge fan of the Miami Heat. I don't like their swag, I didn't like LeBron's move to South Beach and they carry themselves with a certain entitled arrogance that generally annoys me. So I'm really hoping that the Mavs can knock them off come Sunday and win Dirk and Jason Kidd a title.

Miss Cleo Says... (Grilled Newt Edition)

Newt has imploded.
Perry is flirting.
Bachmann is lurking.
Palin is coy.

With Newt's implosion, people seem to be thinking that Texas Governor Rick Perry might jump into the race and it wouldn't surprise me if he does. Whether the country can stomach another four to eight years of a Texan in the White House, even if his last name isn't Bush is quite another matter. But the sustained economic growth that Texas has been seeing, even in this recession is a powerful argument to fling against Obama in the election.

My personal dark horse in all of this isn't Tim Pawlenty, but Michelle Bachmann. Sure, she's from the crazy wing of the Republican Party, but she works her behind off and raises money like crazy and doesn't seem (at least right now) to want to get into a never ending pissing match with or whine about the media. All of which makes her more appealing that Sarah Palin. If Bachmann catches, the rest of 'em had better watch out.

Pay Your Bills, Fool

The Department of Education sent in a SWAT team to track down someone for defaulted student loans in Stockton, California. This sent shockwaves around the internet because I think people were disturbed because a. they sent in a SWAT team about Student Loans and b. the Department of Education has a SWAT team.

But seriously, folks this actually happened. Just makes you wonder if we need a Department of Education to begin with and if anyone can come up with anything sensible to lower the increasingly insane costs of higher education. (Put the Profs to WORK!)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Libya Creeps Towards A Resolution

NATO is ratcheting up airstrikes on the Gadafi Regime in Libya and calling for planning on a post-Gadafi Libya to start now to ensure a smooth transition to democracy. They've also extended their operations for another 90 days until September...

I'm really hoping that Gadafi collapses before then, though. I think with a little bit of patience and continued pressure, dividends should start to be paid here over the next couple of months. Rebels in the Western Mountains have opened up another front and are making gains against Gadafi forces their- most recently capturing Yafran and getting within 100 KM of Tripoli. Things seem to be bogged down in the East, with the rebels not advancing much beyond Ajdabiya, but I also think, given the early patterns of massive gains followed by massive retreats for the rebels, a little bit of caution on the Eastern front can only be a good thing.

There's still work to be done here and more aid, assistance and organization for the rebels is needed- but when Russia and China, hardly fans of the initial NATO action to begin with are making contact with the NTC in Benghazi and Russia is openly saying that he needs to go, I think the international consensus seems to be that Gadafi's days are numbered.

Yemen Also Goes From Bad To Worse

Yemen is also going from bad to worse. President Saleh, injured in a rocket attack on his compound is in Saudi Arabia seeking medical treatment for burns that reportedly cover up to 40% of his body. His Vice President has stated that no dialogue can take place until President Saleh is back in the country.

Needless to say that hasn't made people very happy.

Of all the Arab Uprisings currently going on, Yemen may be the one where the nay-sayers and worriers have a point. There seems to be a real and growing chance that, unless some kind of transition takes place, the entire country could drop into Civil War and unlike Egypt, where Islamist perfidy is confined to the imagination of Glenn Beck, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is actually based in Yemen.

A transition back to some kind of sanity and stability in Yemen can only be good for everyone and at this point, it's hard to imagine what else that could involve until President Saleh goes. And I think with burns covering 40% of his body, he's probably got bigger things to worry about.

Our Glorious Leader's Secret Plan

Terry Branstad has a secret plan on what to do if the state government shuts down should lawmakers not reach a budget agreement come July 1st.

Hopefully they will, but that has me wondering...

Give Me $55K Instead

I can tell you what's wrong with downtown Iowa City faster than some consultant can. What a titanic waste of money... here's the deal:

1. Rents are too damn high. (Yes, the rent downtown IS too damn high.)
2. Stop upscaling downtown. No one likes gentrification.
3. WWCD (What would Coralville do?)

Hopefully the 'consultant' that the City is insisting on hiring has the sense to offer free parking on weekends, a huge, giantic TIF district to attract businesses and tells the City Council to give people a reason to shop downtown again! Because right now if people want to buy a pair of jeans (a simple retail necessity) downtown Iowa City is the last place the majority of people who live here are going to go.

So I'd like free parking on weekends- in ramps TOO!
I'd like a movie theater back downtown.
I'd like maybe a permanent site for the Farmer's Market like Cedar Rapids is looking at doing?
I'd like a Red Robin and/or an In and Out Burger.

Basically, the Field of Dreams had it right: if you build it, they will come. But they're not going to come and buy ridiculously tiny clothes at upscale boutiques.

Humala Wins In Peru

Not that I'm a huge fan of the Chavez-end of the Latin American left, but I'm cautiously optimistic about Ollanta Humala's win in the Peruvian Presidential elections. It sounds like people down there weren't crazy about their choices to begin with, but when daughter of deposed former autocrat Alberto Fujimori, Keiko Fujimori said in the early going that she'd like to pardon her father (she back-tracked in a big hurry on that one) it probably made people extremely leery.

Sounds like President-Elect Humala can read the writing on the wall: he doesn't have that many allies in Congress and he's under pressure to name his economic team quickly to calm down investors. Hopefully he'll see more dividends in being a Bachalet or a Lula than a Chavez or a Morales.

Syria Goes From Bad To Worse

There seems to be no end to the Uprising in Syria in sight and it looks like resistance is turning to insurrection over there. Robert Fisk has some thoughts...

Let's Hope This...

...doesn't happen. I haven't been following the flooding along the Missouri like I should have- but if this guy is right, then there could be a very big problem down in the Show-Me State once all the water that's currently working it's way through Western Iowa gets down there.

Problem is that you just don't hear about flooding along the Missouri the way you do the Mississippi. I get the feeling that it's probably the less travelled waterway and the system of reservoirs that this guy describes seem to have done their job quite well. Though I do think you should probably open your floodgates more than once every 50 years, just to make sure they work properly. Or is that an unreasonable thing to ask?

Anyway: here's hoping this guy is wrong.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Rice University PD Slammed

RIce University is getting slammed by Houston PD after one of their officers responded to a shots-fired call off campus. Hmmm... this seems overly harsh to me, especially if he was responding to a shots-fired call. However, if he didn't tell anyone where he was going and didn't check in with anyone he deserves a major slap on the wrist. That's a big no-no... just not sure if firing him was the way to go unless he had a prior history of discipline problems. Like the Houston PD officer says in the article, you could use this as a training opportunity...

Where Did The Cool Factor Go?

Hmmm... is President Obama just not cool on college campuses anymore? The Atlantic is wondering and some vague studies of the uber-liberal atmosphere of Oberlin College seem to reveal that this is the case, but I've got to wonder. I think President Obama will be plenty popular on college campuses for some time to come- especially given their usually liberal bent. But I do think there's something to the notion that young people, like everyone else are starting to feel the squeeze a bit more. Employment for recent college graduates is shit. College costs are going upwards with every passing year and there's more debt than you can shake a stick it when you graduate from college. (Plus, courtesy of Instapundit, we see totally uncool things like this as well.)

So, I think there's going to be a fall off in the President's popularity when it comes to college campuses, but I think he'll still probably remain pretty high up there overall.

Pondering Pawlenty and Paul Revere

While Tim Pawlenty impressed me in the early going by having the cojones to show up in Des Moines and call for an end to farm subsidies and as an encore, go to Florida and tell a bunch of senior citizens that the retirement age needs to be raised, his latest policy speech contains a few nuggets that make me a bit queasy. First, there's the deep tax cuts- that should be expected, as the man is a Republican after all- but his 'Google Test' thing? Hmmmmm... not sure if I like still more surrenders to creeping corporatism that seems to be infecting the government, but I'll go with it.

Basically T-Paw is saying that if you can find a company (via Google) that will provide any given service, the Federal Government should NOT be providing said service. Post Office? See ya. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac? Totally done-sies. We could probably do this all day- but the concept is simultaneously disturbing and interesting to me, because the man does sort of, kind of maybe, have a little bit of a point. The Post Office is essentially doomed in its current form anyway- when Britain has already partially privatized the Royal Mail and with no coherent strategy on how to deal with the big, ugly rise of email, it's bleeding red ink. Selling it off or partially privatizing it would be something I'd be OK with. If T-Paw wants to abolish Amtrak, I'd be hip to that as it's useless anyway...

But as for everything else, again, I'm not so sure. What is it about Republicans that they insist that the government made of the people, by the people and for the people is so completely corrupt and depraved that we should scrap all checks on business and hand over most government services to private corporations? Should I trust private corporations? Do I get a vote on their board of directors? What's to stop them from screwing me over in the name of making money- because that, at the end of the day is what businesses do. I tend to think we should strip out loopholes for everyone, make taxes low for everyone and keep regulation as simple as possible for everyone. But apparently, if you don't pass T-Paw's 'Google Test' then the corporate sharks can have you for lunch...

(Another interesting point raised by current Medium White North Governor Mark Dayton: given the MWN's massive budget deficit, courtesy of T-Paw, do we really think he should be trusted with the fiscal keys to the car?)

SIDEBAR #1: Sarah Palin said something about Paul Revere. Everybody laughed at her until the historians out there checked the facts and found out that she had been, in fact, correct. Oooops! She might actually have a brain between her ears... that can't be good for Progressive America. (BTW: is it too late to have the media stop with the sexism? This is going to be a long campaign and if she runs, it'd be nice to focus on her policy positions and not her boobs.)

SIDEBAR #2: Jon Huntsman, Republican no-hoper candidate for President (yes, he had a nice, boner-inducing record that Republicans LOVE as Governor of Utah, but then he went and WORKED FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA! How easy is that campaign going to be?) decided he was going to skip Iowa because of his position on ethanol subsidies. (He is not in favor of them.) Seriously, dude? You don't even have the balls to come to my state and tell me something I don't want to hear? How are you going to be President? Are you just going to go on long trips abroad when you've got bad news you don't want to tell the American people? Huntsman, I dub thee coward and weakling! Grow a set and come to Iowa! We're nice people!

Bookshots #24-26: The Hunger Games Trilogy



Sometime towards the end of the publishing tsunami that was the Harry Potter Series, publishers began to scrabble around to find a suitable money-making phenomenon to replace him. There was Lemony Snicket, Percy Jackson and the pile of excrement and horrible writing that are the Twilight books- however, although I enjoyed Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, everybody in the publishing world can stop looking for the next Harry Potter- because I've found her and her name is Katniss Everdeen.

The Hunger Games Trilogy opens with the first volume, entitled The Hunger Games, where we meet our heroine Katniss Everdeen, who is a resident of District 12 in a country called Panem which occupies the ancient lands once known as North America. There are 12 Districts and at the center of the country is a shining, dictatorial Capitol and every year each District has to send 2 children, essentially, to fight in what are called 'The Hunger Games' in which they're plopped into an arena and forced to fight to the death. Katniss steps up and volunteers to go in place of sweet younger sister Prim and the first book revolves around her adventures in the arena and how, ultimately, she survives and goes on to win The Hunger Games.

In the second volume of the trilogy, Catching Fire, a victorious Katniss returns home, only to find that she is the target of the Capitol's ire for her defiance in the arena- people are starting to view her as a symbol of resistance and the regime wants her to quell the fires of revolution that are burning throughout her country. She tries- but ultimately fails and a widespread revolution erupts all across Panem and the mysterious District 13 emerges to lead it.

The final volume of the trilogy, Mockingjay tells the story of the revolution against the evil Capitol, lead by District 13. In retaliation for her defiance, the Capitol has destroyed Katniss' home of District 12 and now she has nothing left to lose except her two possible loves, Gale and Peeta and maybe even her life unless she agrees to become the symbol of the revolution itself...

There's obviously more to the books than that, but you're going to have to read them for yourself. Which you should be doing- right now. Go, stop reading this and buy these books, borrow them from the library and read them! They're quick reads, so you won't lose too much time.

OK: I love these books. All of them, every last sentence in them- Suzanne Collins grabs you from word one and doesn't let go until the end of the last book- she writes a powerful, taut, plot-driven series of books that practically crackles with suspense that leaps up off the page and smacks you in the face sometimes and FINALLY we have an author that DOESN'T PULL ANY PUNCHES! I wanted to do cartwheels! The characters in these books wrestle with and make life or death decisions, they have to make horrible choices and explore complex moral themes about what is and isn't justifiable in the course of a war and yes, these books are quite dark in places, but I'm 100% OK with that. These books may have the burdensome designation of being YA Literature or whatever, but the world isn't always a shiny happy place and authors that try and make it that way when they're marketing their books for young adults need to be slapped upside the head. Teenagers know better these days and they should be challenged with complex characters and the sometimes morally questionable decisions everyone can be confronted with and The Hunger Games Trilogy gives them plenty to work with.

It may be a little reminiscent of science fiction movies like 'The Running Man' or 'Logan's Run' and I do think that towards the end of Mockingjay things became a little rushed on the part of the author but ultimately, these books are wonderfully written (unlike Twilight) and feature a strong female main character (also unlike Twilight) and leave you wanting so much more- (exactly what Twilight doesn't do).

Overall: Absolute, 100% MUST READS! You won't regret it! (And they're controversial too... sparking a mild internet eruption courtesy of the WSJ's op-ed page (prompting an alternate take from Salon.com)

Friday, June 3, 2011

Albums2010 #40-41: She and Him Vols.1 & 2



What's not to love about Zooey Deschanel? She's fun, quirky, has a great sense of style, is an accomplished actress and, man oh man, can she sing. (Plus, mad props for her sister's kick-ass show, Bones.)

She and Him seemed to spring out of a happy coincidence that occured on one of Deschanel's films 'The Go-Getter' where she met M. Ward and was asked to record a song for the ending credits with him- they enjoyed the experience so much they decided to make an album together and 'She and Him' was born. Overall, the musical experience is... pleasant. Well, that's not quite the right word. It's pleasant, but pleasant like your Mom's home cooking is pleasant or pleasant how a cheese bagel fresh out of the oven tastes with smoked salmon cream cheese... you know, the perfect comfort food that gives you a nice warm fuzzy feeling deep down inside. That's what I mean by pleasant.

If there's a difference between Volumes 1 and 2, it's the slight evolution of sound that occurs between the two discs. The basic formula stays the same: Zooey Deschanel, microphone, music- but I think Volume 2 drifts towards more of an alt-country sound in places that Volume 1 doesn't- there are shades of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn in Volume 2 that make it a very different listening experience from Volume 1.

The opening track is really what grabs your attention on Volume One... 'Sentimental Heart' is a nice, romantic slow song which let's Deschanel show the range of her smooth voice and the album just builds from there. 'Why Do You Let Me Stay Here', 'This Is Not A Test', 'Change Is Hard' follow up from there and suck you into the wonderful sun-dappled music that seems to be She and Him's hallmark. The first four tracks do stick out- and don't get me wrong the entire album is wonderful, but there are only two more tracks that are worthy of note. First is a wonderful, wonderful cover of the Lennon/McCartney track 'Should Have Known Better' that Deschanel turns into a slow, soulful blues tune that pretty much melts your face off. The other track is a toe-tapping swaying song called 'Sweet Darlin'' that was co-written by the noted actor Jason Schwartzman... which grabbed my attention and as apparently, the guy can write. (Interesting side note: I think Schwartzman is in a band. What band, I don't know...)

As I already noted, Volume 2 has a dollop of country flavor to it. With tracks like 'Thieves' and 'Gonna Get Along Without You Now' it manages to retain the sunny sensibility and smooth soul of the first Volume while shifting the sound ever-so-slightly into something new... and, as the hallmark of all good groups/bands/musicians that make music, they leave you wanting more. And I can't wait for Volume 3- and hopefully it comes out soon.

Overall: A beautiful voice and nice, mellow music that's perfect for chilling out after a long summer day.

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Happy Days In Manitoba!

Winnipeg is happy- they're getting an NHL Franchise back! And I'm sure there are die-hard hockey fans in Atlanta that are crushed that their beloved Thrashers are moving north- given that the same thing happened with the Atlanta Flames who moved to Calgary. I'm still slightly curious that there are professional hockey teams south of the Mason-Dixon line, but I guess people like to play hockey everywhere...