Nevertheless, I am posting it anyhow…
Funny how “Khaaaaaaaann!” never gets old, isn’t it? Happy Monday, everyone…
Oct202008
Oct162008
Braaaiiinnsss! Eat Obama’s Liberal Braaaiinnsss…
I don’t have much to say about last night’s presidential debate — I watched only a part of it and I choose to keep my admittedly partisan impressions to myself — but I’ve got to share this amusing photo that’s been floating around the politiblogs today:
Now, I’m perfectly willing to give McCain the benefit of the doubt and chalk this up to one of those unfortunate moments when the shutter just happens to open at exactly the worst possible instant — the blog I pulled this from suggests he was about to walk off the edge of the stage or something — but doesn’t he look like he’s doing that childish pretend-you’re-a-monster-behind-the-other-guy’s-back thing? You know, when you’re teasing someone by acting like Frankenstein or whatever?
I’ll bet when Obama turned around, McCain was standing upright and looking perfectly normal and dignified. Just like that kid in the fourth grade always did when I looked at him, even though I knew he was up to something back there…
Oct162008
A Bad Sign?
I hope it isn’t some kind of omen for how my day’s going to go that I ran out of deodorant this morning with one pit left to swipe.
Yep, it’s turning out to be one of those weeks. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to write something more later…
Oct102008
You Can’t Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm…
The Girlfriend tends to be something of a homebody, so our Friday evenings together are usually spent curled on the couch with Taco Bell or Totino’s pizzas, watching DVDs. Not the healthiest of lifestyles, I know, but pleasing in its own greasy, slothful way. Just a few minutes ago, however, she called with a rather unexpected suggestion:
She: “How about if I pick you up after work and we go hang out at Gateway?”
(For my non-local readers, Gateway is “an open-air contemporary destination” — i.e., a shopping mall without a roof — on the west side of Salt Lake, only a few blocks from my office.)
Me: “Um, okay.”
She (after a moment’s pause): “I miss people. And activity. And… and urban stuff.”
Me: “San Francisco?”
She: “Yes…”
Me: “You know Gateway isn’t going to compare, right?”
She (rather forlornly): “I know… but it’s the best we’ve got around here…”
Kids, consider this a PSA on the potential dangers of leaving home. You may just find out that home isn’t all that cool…
Oct092008
Footloose Cast Reunion
You know, it’s funny… I remember being fairly indifferent to the movie Footloose when it first came out way back in 1984. Being the geeky boy that I was — oh, hell, still am — I was far more interested in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Star Trek III, Ghostbusters, and even Gremlins. I snottily dismissed Footloose as a movie only girls would like. At some point, however, I did finally knuckle under and see it. I no longer remember why I gave in — maybe I was on a date or something — but I do recall that the setting was the old Cameo Theatre in Draper, the single-screen neighborhood movie house where I would soon have my first job, and if it was playing there, it must’ve been several months after the movie’s initial release. Surprisingly, it turned out to be not such a bad movie after all. In fact, I ended up enjoying it quite a lot.
Even so, I never anticipated how much that little movie about teens who want to dance would come to mean to me. With each passing year since 1984, Footloose has moved higher and higher up my list of all-time favorites. In part, this is simply because the movie was filmed near my home and it’s a wonderful time capsule from a lost era. It fills my sentimental need to see the world I grew up in and which is now long gone. And it’s a great feel-good flick where the good guys win in the end, and the bad guys turn out to not be so bad after all. But a bigger issue, I think, is that its message of continuing to think freely in the face of even well-intentioned oppression resonates with me more now than it did even in my teen years. Make of that what you will given recent topics on this blog.
Anyhow, not only do I love this movie, but I’m also a sucker for those cast reunions you occasionally see on TV; I like to know what’s become of people whose faces and voices are so indelibly printed in my imagination, to see how well (or poorly) the years are treating them. Which brings us, at last, to my point: The three stars of Footloose — Kevin Bacon, John Lithgow, and Lori Singer — recently appeared together on The Today Show, but I was only able to catch a few moments of their interview before I had to leave for work. Tonight, I thought to look up the video clip online, and I thought I’d share it with anyone who may be interested:
Oct092008
Autumn Meme
When Anne and I left for San Francisco, it was basically still summer around here: temperatures in the mid-80s and jackets gathering dust in the closet. We came home to find the first layer of snow on the mountain peaks and frost on the car windows in the morning. What a difference a week can make.
Since we’re unquestionably into Utah’s all-too-brief fall season (there’s possible valley snow forecasted for this weekend), I thought it might be fun to do the Autumn Meme I saw over at Electronic Cerebrectomy the other night:
Oct092008
You Gotta Be Like Julie…
There’s some NSFW language in this PSA, but it’s a pretty cool effort nonetheless. Just put your headphones on:
Hey, I’m pretty sure I have five friends who read this. I’m doin’ my part. You guys do yours…
Oct082008
Man Bites Dog
Given that there’s no escaping politics at the moment (not even on vacation — I saw lots of evidence that Obama is going to own San Francisco), I thought I’d take the political quiz that’s been floating around to see if I am what I think I am. The results are entirely unsurprising:
You want government out of people’s personal lives, but you appear to desire some continued government control over people’s economic activities. There is no political party that represents your views. The Green Party does run many candidates with similar views, but the overall Green Party platform is much more socialistic than you are. You would need a mix of Democratic, Green, and Libertarian politicians in office to get the balance of freedom and social justice you desire. The ratio between these depends on how high up your dot is on the chart.
Approximately 12% of the takers of this quiz scored in this area, 18% for all liberals outside the centrist circle.
Even though I expected results along these lines, I do think Brian and Ilya are correct when they note that the questions are pretty broad and omit some important issues, not to mention that the available answers didn’t always completely mirror my actual opinions. Still, I’d say this is fairly close… take it and see how you fare!
Oct082008
Remembering Home
It sounds strange, but after spending a week in San Francisco, with its cosmopolitan and determinedly liberal — some would even say libertine — spirit, I kind of forgot what it’s like here in the Land of Zion. Fortunately, as I’ve been catching up on my blog and newspaper reading from last week, I’ve found plenty of items that remind me of those finer details that make living in Utah so very special.
Oct072008
And Now For Some Net Crap…
A week away from the ‘nets and this is the best I could come up with? That’s how it goes, I suppose. Robert, this one’s for you:
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