Blogs are like ice cream — sometimes you’re in the mood for one flavor, sometimes not. The one blog I never miss, however, is John Scalzi’s Whatever. It is quite simply the summit that all of us other bloggers should be striving for — always well-written, diverse subject matter, strong opinions, glimpses of the author’s personal life that manage to be cute without getting too cloying, and a sharp, laugh-out-loud wit that cuts through the crap to say exactly what needs to be said. Take, for example, today’s entry, in which Scalzi begins by saying that, “if John Kerry cannot beat George W. Bush in this election, he should be taken out and beaten to death with his own shoes.” Lest you think this is just another standard-issue Bush-bashing, let me point out that Scalzi spends most of the entry excoriating the Democrats for not seizing the opportunity this campaign represents. It’s an interesting read, and I think he hits the nail on the head. There is no reason why this election should be as close as it is, except that Kerry and his people haven’t played the game as well as they should have. I won’t say any more, because I think Scalzi says it better than I can. Take a look…

Let me direct your attention to this essay written by one Marshall Wittman. He’s a self-identified Teddy Roosevelt-style conservative who has worked in the past for the Christian Coalition and Sen. John McCain. And he intends to vote for John Kerry. His reasons why make for an interesting read, especially because he doesn’t see himself as surrendering his conservative beliefs or his desire to see a “a new politics of national greatness.”

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[Ed. note: I know I said I wouldn’t discuss politics for a while, but interesting things just keep happening in that arena, and besides, it’s my blog. I’ll write about what I feel like writing about, thank you very much.]

[Ed. note 2: That last comment probably sounds a lot snarkier than I intended. I didn’t intend it to be snarky at all. It’s supposed to be taken in a good-natured, we’re-among-friends sort of way. Sorry if it came across as rude.]

I don’t know about you, but I wasn’t planning to watch the presidential debate on Thursday night. I didn’t see much point to it. I’ve known for a very long time which way my vote was going to go, and nothing I was likely to see was going to change my opinion. However, as the zero hour neared and the TV talking heads started to salivate, I found that I was more interested in seeing this thing than I thought. Many of the blogs I like to read had been going on about preparations and speculations for several days, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I got swept up in the hype. I tuned in figuring I’d just watch a few minutes, get pissed off at something, and then go do some reading. Instead, I ended up watching the entire thing, all ninety minutes of it.

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