I’ve had a fairly slow day at work, and usually that leads to much bloggage, but today I just haven’t been able to zero in on any particular topic on which I wanted to bloviate. I think I’m distracted by the building sense of anticipation and, yes, anxiety for tomorrow’s election. I’m trying

not to worry too much about it — after all, I’ve already cast my vote and whoever is going to win is going to win — but damn it, doesn’t it seem like we’re on the verge of something big here? Can’t you sense the huge, rushing something gathering strength out there in the night? Like the crackling electrical potential you sometimes feel in advance of an approaching thunderstorm? One of my friends e-mailed earlier today and said he feels like “I feel like I’m six years old and going to Disneyland tomorrow.”

That’s one way to describe it, I guess. Personally, my feelings are a bit more like the harsh yet vivid image Andrew Sullivan came up with the other day:

The more I think about it the more this election day feels like one giant collective, global puke. That Bush-Cheney thing never quite settled with us, did it? We’ll feel a lot better but a lot more tired once the last heave is over.

Coffee probably doesn’t sound too appetizing after that, but just as a public service, I’ll pass along the following word anyhow: Starbucks will be giving out free cups of joe tomorrow. All you have to do is tell them you voted. Pretty sweet way to encourage democracy, don’t you think?

Have a good pre-election day evening, everyone, and if you haven’t voted early, remember to get out and do it in the morning!

I feel like I’m really pushing my luck with all the political and/or inflammatory posts lately, but as election day nears, more and more items are catching my eye that seem to be worth risking a fight. I was steered to the latest such item by Andrew Sullivan; it’s a blog ostensibly written by an 82-year-old Texas woman. (I say ostensibly because some of her commenters have raised the possibility that the 82-year-old “Helen” is merely a persona adopted by someone who wants to express a particular point of view.) Regardless of Helen’s true age or identity, though, she is an eloquent and entertaining writer with a refreshingly crusty, no-nonsense, and unabashedly partisan attitude. I found today’s entry particularly good, notably this passage:

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Damn, I already used my vote for this year… if only I’d seen this video a few days earlier!

You know what really scares me about this? The way it actually makes me kind of like Paris Hilton. Just goes to show what a catchy jingle can do for you, I suppose.

(Via Neatorama.)