I guess I'm part of the Netroots now...

This whole blog thing has been an interesting experience on several levels, not the least of which being the ability to develop virtual connections with people you may or may not ever meet in real life. Or to just develop a sense of someone entirely based on blog posts, comments, etc. It's admittedly a strange kind of community, but it's a community nonetheless. This isn't really about that, but it's related:

A local blogger is looking to generate some outreach (and donations) for a couple of friends in Charlottesville who lost their home, and all of their possessions, in a fire over the holiday weekend. If you have a moment, please check it out and donate if you can.

Thank you.

Don't You Forget About Me

Thanks to honeykbee for today's Time Waster of the Day. I got a 124. Which just proves that I had waaaaaay too much spare time growing up...

When people wonder why I don't remember much of anything I learned in college, I point to this. The brain, it seems, was already full.

'Tube Treats: RIP Richard Jeni

The casual fan of standup comedy has probably never heard of Richard Jeni. He wasn't really one of the better-known comics; he's had a career as long as Seinfeld, or Foxworthy, or Rock, but he's never quite reached their level of mainstream notoriety. But he was excellent. Being a bit of a student of the form, I've followed Rich's career for years. His special, "Platypus Man," is one of those specials that I've kept with me on VHS, part of a library that dates back to junior high (hey, you taped 90210, I taped HBO comedy specials). It's a good go-to when you need a laugh.

So you can imagine my surprise, and sadness, when I learned that Rich died earlier this week, of apparent suicide. Tragic. So as a tribute of sorts, and for those of you who weren't fortunate enough to see his material before, I found a couple of clips to put up and give you a sense for how good he was.

First, some older stuff:


And a more recent bit, from "A Big Steaming Pile of Me":


He will be missed.

Belated Oscar Thoughts

- There needs to be a global ban on commenting about how long the Oscarcast is. We know it's long. It's always long. Enough already. No writing about the running time until the day they come in under 3 hrs. In other words, no writing about the running time ever again. If you're not sure it's intentionally 4 hours long, consider how much time could be shaved off by losing the parade of inane montages (except for the people who died; I'm all right with that one). Most of the viewing audience knows this, and they stay up anyway, then they bitch. It's been almost 80 years: you know the drill, so shut up already.

- Ellen did all right. Not great, but she certainly wasn't bad. To me, though, she was less host than featured performer. Her opening monologue was more stand-up-ish than I would have preferred, but it was funny. I did really like the bit with Clint, though, especially once she handed the camera to Spielberg. One of the best directors possibly ever, and she hands him a dinky digital camera to snap a photo with. Nicely done.

A couple of critiques I read commented on how the event seemed to overwhelm her a bit, as it has many of the hosts before her, and I thought there was something to that. I do think it says something that some of the best comic minds of the past couple of decades (Steve Martin in particular) have been mediocre at best under that particular spotlight. Then again, Bob Hope and Johnny Carson set a bar that may never be matched, and everyone else is just trying to tread water by comparison. Seinfeld might be all right, but I'm not sure his style could really carry a four-hour broadcast. He was excellent in his spot the other night, but that was a sprint compared to the awards-show marathon. Personally, I'd like to see John Stewart get another crack at it, but that's just me.

(Actually, what I'd really like is to see Robin Williams host. Sure the telecast would be seven hours long and they'd only give out three awards in the process, but it would be the most entertaining Oscarcast in history.)

- You can count me among those that are glad Martin Scorcese got an Oscar, but are a little puzzled that it was for this movie. Not that it isn't a really good movie; I've already written my thoughts on it. But I don't know that I think it's his best movie. Does anyone actually believe that The Departed is a better movie than Raging Bull or Taxi Driver? I'm thinking probably not. But then I guess it's less whether this was his best movie than whether it was better than the other movies nominated, and since I've been exceedingly slack in seeing the nominated films I can't really vote one way or the other on that. This does seem to be one of those Oscars given for a body of work rather than for a single film. It's like: Marty, we know this isn't even your best movie, but here's your Oscar, even if it is 20 years or so late.

And by the way, I laughed out loud at the presentation for the Director award. First, you have Coppola, Spielberg, and Lucas roll up to the stage like they were going to bust out with some barbershop harmonies, which was funny enough, but then you had the schtick with Lucas and his lack of Oscars. If there was any justice in the world, Spielberg would have looked at him and said, "You wanna know why you don't have one? Three reasons: Episodes I, II, and III. They pretty much guarantee you'll never have one. You're only up here because we needed a tenor."

(And really, wouldn't it have been awesome if Marty had wandered up there, accepted his award, and then the four of them broke out in to a rendition of "Blue Moon"? Maybe it's just me, but that would be classic.)

- Forest Whitaker: hell yes. I didn't even have to see his movie to know he should win the award. Simply one of the best actors of his time, usually flying just below the radar in some excellent roles. You could tell he was going to win just from the trailers for the film.

- On the other hand, Jennifer Hudson: meh. Good story, seems like a nice enough girl, but you will have a hard time convincing me that she did a better job than Cate Blanchett in Notes on a Scandal. I'm sure she was good, maybe even great, but Cate was amazing. Watch the movie. She and Judi Dench are both incredible.

- Joan Rivers, Mme Tussaud called to say that they're canceling your statue. With all that botox, you've done a better job than they could possibly manage. Bravo.

'Tube Treats

Had a request for some stand-up, so I went looking for a couple of my favorite comics to sample from. This Viacom telling YT to pull all the Comedy Central clips down is pretty annoying, and kind of silly on their part. Apparently, they didn't like all of the potential viewers they were reaching, and would much rather piss off their target demographic. Brilliant business move, Viacom suits. Nice job. But we press on.

Jim Gaffigan, on Kimmel


Stephen Lynch, "D&D"

In order to improve his connection with 'the kids,' he has recently changed his name to P. Philly

Puxatawny Phil is a lying bastard.

Okay, so this may be a little harsh, but you can't help but notice that the nasty Ice Age renaissance we've been seeing around here lately was oddly coincidental with the groundhog's rosy prediction for the upcoming season. Not that it wasn't already cold, but it certainly wasn't ass-numbing, holy-crap-I-can't-feel-my-face cold. That all started after we were promised an early Spring.

But then, perhaps it's less a lying rodent than a ticked-off Mother Nature giving the world's only nonhuman weatherman the finger (you'll note that the nonhuman variety is roughly as reliable a predictor as his human counterparts). She appears to be saying, "Early Spring? Early Spring?!? Are you kidding? You had an early Spring. It was called 'January.' Did you forget that I gave you blooming trees at Christmastime, you ingrate? No appreciation. No, 'Thanks, Ma, that was great, whatever you want to do is fine with me.' Of course not. You want the early Spring, too. Fine. Maybe, just maybe, I'll give it to you, but I'm going to park your scruffy behind in the freezer section for a while first. Suck on that popsicle, Chuckles." And of course, we all have to suffer for the groggy musings of the world's most famous garden pest (maybe second-most, behind his much funnier cousin from "Caddyshack"). I say he should just leave the incorrect guessing to the professionals.

Maybe I'm being overly sensitive. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that, in a 30-second span while trying to fill out a deposit envelope last night at the bank, my fingers went from relatively warm in my gloves to stinging-and-barely-moving, with barely any transition in between. And this was without wind. That might be it. But I've had roughly the same thought for the past week or so, as I lean into the wind on my walk from the metro to work and back.

Stupid groundhog.

Smarter than the average bear. The average stupid bear.

This just happened, like five minutes ago. I will blame it on fatigue, and stick to that story until my dying day.

I'm in the hotel, and knowing that it's time (well, really, past time) to go to bed, I pick up the phone to set my wake-up call. This seems like a great idea, until I realize that the phone has no dial tone. Annoyed, I hang up and try it again. Nothing. I do the old-school tapping of the switch a few times. Still nothing. Just because I haven't tried it yet, I say hello, as if there's someone on the other end just waiting for me to calm down enough to acknowledge them so they can try to sell me a set of encyclopedias. Shockingly, this also produces no results.

By this point I'm a little annoyed, so I do what any clear-thinking modern adult would do: I pick up my cell phone and call the front desk. When the front-desk person answers, I tell him who I am and what room I'm staying in, and inform him that my phone has no dial tone. I go on to tell him that I really don't care about the phone so much; all I'm really trying to do is get a wake-up call set up (if you've figured it out by now, please don't spoil it for the rest. Thanks). He pauses for a second, then tells me that sure, he can set a wake-up call for me, but he'd have to come up and knock on my door or something at the appointed time.

Because the phone, which I had just called to tell him about, does not work.

I am a genius. The facts don't lie (they're truthful that way, much like hips).

I will defend myelf in a very small way by saying that it did occur to me as he began his response what the issue was, but it really didn't matter. I had already asked for a wake-up call to a broken phone. A phone that was so broken I felt the need to go outside of the hotel communications network to tell him about. So I, being of the helpful sort, suggested that maybe I'd just set the alarm clock instead. That seemed to be functioning relatively normally. Of course, for all I know at this point it's really a jack-in-the-box, but I'll give it a shot.

And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, to maybe have someone fix the phone tomorrow. So I can get my wake-up call.

File under: Not Quite What I Expected

So I'm on work travel for the second week in a row, deep in the heart of Texas (clapping optional). Had to rent a car. When I was making the reservation, picked the Intermediate size. The selection screen said, "Oldsmobile Alero or similar." Remember that: Oldsmobile. Alero.

Fast forward five days. Land at the airport (it's effing FREEZING, by the way), head off to the rental car building. Turns out my reservation wasn't quite right, so while it's being fixed I'm looking over the menu, as it were. Dodge is apparently the brand of choice for Thrifty car rental around here. Fair enough. I figure I'm getting like a Neon or something. Fine, whatever, it's late, I just want a car and to go to my hotel. Sleeping is much higher on my list of priorities right now than the cheapo rental car that's going to get me from hither to yon. Give me a Kia. I don't care. That's basically my position at the time. So Mr. Thrifty Man finishes his negotiating with the little gremlins in the computer (based on the time it took, it was quite a transaction), and goes to get me the keys to what I'm fully expecting at this point to be a '78 Dodge Dart (it was after midnight as far as I was concerned, after a flight that took a full extra hour to board and another extra hour in the air thanks to something like 170mph headwinds, so you'll excuse me if I was a little impatient). Hands me the keys, I half look at them on my way to Space #20, and off I go. I get out into the garage, and there are no fewer than five attendants hanging around my car, one of them might actually have been sitting on it, I'm not completely sure. But a van comes by, they all pile in, and I'm left staring at my equivalent of an Oldsmobile Alero.

A sotcky, silver, slightly hostile-looking new-model Dodge Charger.

Now, I know it doesn't have a Hemi, and let's face it, it's a Dodge. But still, what Dodge managed to do with its newer line of cars is produce what looks, at least from the outside, like a muscle car. Which for the record, an Oldsmobile Alero does not. Not even a little bit. It's very much like the Hefty vs. Wimpy; the Charger is hef-hef-hef-hef-Hefty.

I should point out that, after a day of driving it, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to own one. You're sitting suprisingly high up for what I expect of a car like that, and the rear visibility is lousy. But still, I chuckle a little every time I walk out to it, as if I should be looking for a place to cruise the strip or something (or if you grew up in Wilmington, DE, cruise up and down Concord Pike between Taco Bell and the McDonalds. Not that I ever did that or anything). But I will admit, I'm more of a fan of Thrifty Car Rentals than I was two days ago. I was totally expecting a Kia and I got a muscle car. That's pretty cool.

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

I've commented to a few people over the past few days that it really doesn't feel much like Christmas. Maybe it's the fact that it was 65 degrees in DC for the last week, or the fact that I hadn't gotten hardly any shopping done, or just the fact that between class and the couple of weekends after class I've been so busy that I've barely thought about it, but ultimately it seemed really strange to be packing for FL earlier this week, since it just didn't seem like it was time to do that. Even once I got down here, I spent the first day or so with the same feeling.

I think it really changed, though, once my brother and sister-in-law arrived yesterday afternoon. Now the family's all here, with cousins, grandparents, aunt and uncle set to come today. It's starting to make sense now. Well, it's either the arrival of people or the preparation of massive amounts of food (more reasons I love having Italian family). It's definitely one or the other, I will choose to assume the former. But now, on Christmas Eve Day, it's here. It's Christmas.

So I wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday, wherever you are and whatever you celebrate. May your time be spent with those close to you, doing the things that bring you peace and happiness. Be safe in your travels, and make the most of the time you have.

Or, if that seems a little too Hallmark, try this:


Either way, Happy Holidays, everybody.

Almost Famous.... well, sort of

When I got back from errand-running and lunch on Saturday, I found an odd email in my blogmail. It went like this:

Hey there.I noticed your posting on My Space and wanted to interview you brieflyabout why you think The Wire is such a compelling show. I'm a reporter atthe Washington Post and writing about this TODAY. What is it that speaks toyou? The power of the kids' stories? The failure of the schools and copsand everyone else to address their problems? Some first hand experience ofyour own with dysfunctional cities? Something else?

It closed with an email address and phone number, and the name was one that did show up on a quick search of the Post site. So I figured it was probably legit. What threw me was a) the MySpace reference, since I don't post anything on MySpace (I barely even have a profile), and b) that I got it at all, since mine is not a heavily-trafficked site to say the least. But I was intrigued, and glad that The Wire is getting some much-deserved attention these days (Bubbles got a profile on cnn.com the other day). I did call the reporter back, but didn't catch her; but it got me thinking about the show, and about the things that I find so gripping about it. I mentioned some of them in a previous post, but there is always more that can be said.

The article can be found here. I think it's a good one, and makes some good points. I am a little bit disappointed, though, because it only addresses a fraction of what I think is important about the show. I can't help but wonder whether the writer watches it herself, or was more just fulfilling an assignment. I felt kind of the same way reading the email, because it suggests a fairly surface-level thinking about the program. All of this is understandable, since I think her intent was less to talk about the program than about the personal reactions people have to it, but I also feel like a show this good deserves a closer look into what really makes it tick. Anyway, were I to have been able to speak with her as she was writing, this is more or less what I would say.

Let me preface with this: I am of the middle-class-white-kid demographic, so that is the point of view from which I approach the show. I don't relate in the same way some of the people quoted in the article do. I'm predictably fine with that, and I don't believe it affects my enjoyment, but I figured I should mention it.

I don't think that the show is about stories, really, and as such I can't say that the kids' stories are what makes it a must-see. It's about characters. Characters are compelling, in a way that stories are not, necessarily. We've all seen the downtrodden-kid-makes-good stories, or the downtrodden-cop-turns-his-life-around stories, but without deep and nuanced characters, the stories don't stick. What Simon/Berg and co. have done is create a world where all of the characters are themselves powerful, so wherever the storyline takes you, you want to go. Namond's story isn't remarkable; Namond is. Randy is. Cutty is. Bubbles definitely is. Marlo, while despicable in many ways, is extremely charismatic as well, and we want to see where the show takes him. I still think that Stringer Bell was one of the best characters this show has seen, but it's a crowded field.

The same thing is true of the "failures" of the police, govt, etc. It's not the failure that is powerful. It's the struggle. If they were failing for a lack of trying, that would be one thing, but you see well-intentioned people (and some not-so-well-intentioned) doing what they can and making small steps forward or large steps back. The new mayorship of Tommy Carcetti is a great example of this. He just keeps piling on examples of how "it's just not that simple." Just look at Prezbo. You could argue that the schools are failing, but you certainly get a clear view of just how much the people in the schools give of themselves to 'save' as many as they can in the process. Prezbo gives you a front row seat to the battle of idealism and hope with cold reality, and that even good people have to make compromises in order to keep doing good.

But really, it's hard to get a sense for how good this show is, or how well it's put together, just by looking at this season. Like many serials, there is a lot of inside baseball on this show, a lot of references and situations you don't fully understand without having seen previous seasons. And that background knowledge takes an already enveloping show and makes it even moreso. If you just watched McNulty during this season, you would get a certain impression, and you could get through the story without losing any critical info. But if you knew what he went through, from Season 1 to now, you would have an entirely different impression of him, and his actions would have a whole different meaning. His relationship with Bodie, and how it developed, is a really solid bit of storytelling, and it explains a lot of McNulty's behavior during the season finale (I'm being intentionally vague out of respect for those who haven't seen it yet. But seriously, get on it already). Same for Cutty, and Colvin, and Bubbles, and even guys like Prop Joe. You don't have to know how they got here, but it sure helps. Some shows are just like that. 24, not so much; this one, absolutely.

And the cast. Holy crap, the cast. Just the casting for the kids alone should be recognized, they're so good. They've cast convicted felons, people that Simon actually arrested years ago. They've got Method Man. And a whole truckload of people you'd never hear of otherwise. Everyone on that show does a superb job, and it seems like nobody notices. The fact that The Wire hasn't received more (any?) awards is, simply put, a travesty. I firmly believe that both the acting and the writing is better on this show that it is on the Sopranos, or Deadwood, or Lost, or pretty much any other drama you might point to.

I like to draw a particular parallel with Lost when I talk about it: there's a feeling you have while watching Lost, a certain tension you feel pretty much throughout the show, no matter what. It's like any minute, something major could happen, and you're just waiting for it. Watching The Wire is like that; there's a very similar sensation watching there as well. You don't know where it's coming from or for whom, but you know it's coming, and you're as much afraid to miss it as anything else. You know it's fiction, but you can't help it: you care. And that's the bottom line. That's the power.

If I'd been asked, that's pretty much what I'd have said. In the end, I wasn't, but it sure would have been cool, wouldn't it?

Off to an auspicious start

Well, my semester break started pretty well, with a pleasantly busy weekend (for a change). It was a very long week, with paper and project to finish, but it's certainly good to be past it. The weekend began with the I-66-h0sted All Holiday Blog Celebration, so we'll do that first. Heck, that might be all we'll do; I'm not sure that anyone really needs to hear about my company holiday party. Anyway.

The double-edged sword about the HH's, for me, is that they are seldom more than about five blocks from my office. This is a good thing, in that it's never very far out of my way to get there, but at the same time it does result in a lot of pre-HH sitting around. My workday ends at 5:30, and there's really no point in trekking all the way out to Ballston and back, so I just hang out at the office. The result is that I am at the latest on time for the thing to start, which is not always a good thing when it's your second HH and you haven't, I don't know, met/seen the host before (at least, not in 3-D). So I got to Science Club at a couple minutes after 7, and wandered back to the DJ booth. Nothing. There were a fair amount of people there, but none that I recognized. So I did a tour of the place. Nice upstairs, although I have the feeling I was walking through a private party (buffet setup, some strange looks from people, that sort of thing), checked out the basement, no familiar faces anywhere. So I parked myself off to the side and waited (and people-watched, something of a hobby of mine anyway). There was one other person there who seemed to be waiting as well, but I figured I'd chill out a bit and see what happened (turned out to be HomeImprovementNinja, but I didn't know that at the time). I-66 arrived after a few minutes, I met him and HIN, and the HH was officially under way.

Science Club is a decent place, if for no other reason than it has a back room that we were able to more or less take over as the evening progressed. The downside, which is true of most townhouses-turned-bars, I guess, is that the space is long and narrow. I remarked to a couple of folks that it's kind of ironic to be in a bar/club and have less room to maneuver than in the average Metro car. But it is a pretty nice spot, and it was never all that cramped, so it was all good. (This was my first time there; the last time I was at that address it was a Thai restaurant.)

All in all, it was very cool. I met a bunch of folks who I have been reading, which was great, and got to see a few people again who I'd met at Gazuza (double-great). I will admit that I still find the whole thing a little surreal, particularly when people recognize the name of my blog. Good surreal, for sure, but surreal. Plus the whole keeping track of both real and blog names is its own challenge. But I think I did all right, and got to talk to a truckload of witty and engaging people while I was at it. I got to spend some time with repeat offenders Kathryn, KassyK, V, Brunchbird, Bettyjoan, Ashburnite, and HeatherB again, all of whom are tons of fun. V was officially my hero for bringing cake, since I had sort of skipped dinner (okay, Kassy also gets hero-credit for having the birthday for which said cake was brought). Always good to see folks again, and also kind of nice to be remembered (again, just a tad surreal). And like I said, I got to meet a ton of people who I read regularly, occasionally, or in various comments. Many I had never met, or only met briefly at my last HH: I-66, HIN, Velvet, Red, Hey Pretty, Joe Logon, Boztopia, VK, Mandy, VP of Dior, DCVita, FreckledK, Tyler, a couple of Carries whose blogging status I never quite nailed down, and Kathryn's BP. Throw in a few non-bloggers, BBird's S.O., a couple of Kassyk's crew, and you have a full evening on your hands. I made it until a little before midnight, at which point my week kind of caught up with me and I had to head home.

Just a couple of notes:

• I-66 had what was, for me, the line of the night: "They do bar mitzvahs." I'll not get into the reason for the line, but trust me when I tell you it was hilarious. I-66, I hope you remember, because it was genius.
• Props to HIN for the charity raffle. There would be more props if I had won, but much credit all the same.
• Happy Birthday to KassyK.
• In his primer (which is excellent, btw), I-66 makes a point about managing your expectations, in terms of how you envision people based on their writing vs. how they are in person. I found myself a little surprised a couple of times to meet the faces behind the words. I was surprised as much by my surprise as anything else, if that makes sense. I didn't consiously expect one thing or another, but I did say to myself, "Wow, [x] wasn't how I expected him/her to be." I should mention, having said that, all surprises were of the better-than-advertised variety. Which is just a credit to you folks, really.
• Five years of engineering school, just so I could fix the battery door on Velvet's camera after it's trip to the hardwood.
• Count me among those who are very much looking forward to January and the smoking ban. Holy crap. I couldn't even get near my jacket for the rest of the weekend, and it still had a little smokiness to it this morning. Thank goodness for redundant outerwear.
• I will probably repeat this in recapping most of these, because it bears repeating: anyone who still believes that the blogs/internet are the domain of the socially inept and visually challenged should spend an hour or two at one of these gatherings. Charming, witty people and some seriously gorgeous women. Seriously.

So thanks to I-66 for playing host, and I'll see you at the next one. Right on time, I'm sure...

TT4T: Special Friday Edition

Okay, so it was admittedly at the tail end of 8 straight hours of non-stop working on a project (took the day off to do schoolwork; fantastic use of leave, no?), but my friend showed me these two videos last night, and I just had to share.

Why do I love YouTube? Sure, the easy access to loads of stand-up clips is great for a guy like me, and the ability to dig up obscure clips from movies and shows is good, too. But some of the original stuff, the stuff from people you would never see or hear of otherwise, really makes it work. Granted, you have to wade through a whoooooole lot of utter crap to find it, but the little nuggets of gold really make the whole thing worthwhile.

Exhibit A: The Good Word - If at first you don't succeed...


Exhibit B: The Vader Sessions - This is really well done. Someone took Star Wars footage, pulled out James Earl Jones's original dialogue, replaced it with some of this lines from other movies, and left the other characters' dialogue as-is. Sounds odd, but it's brilliant. Just look at the way his new lines even match his movements. His conversation with Leia is priceless.
language warning: probably not safe for non-headphones viewing at work.

Right, Right... So tell me again how global warming is just a myth....

Date: November 30
Lunchtime temp: 67 degrees F
Wardrobe: pants, short sleeve shirt

mmm-hmmm... right, no scientific evidence..... riiiight, yes. Clearly making it up... Yep, I totally see where you're coming from.....

I don't know about you, but I'm convinced. If anyone calls, I'll be laying out by the pool.

Please stand by...

The roughly four of you who tune in here on a regular basis will notice that there's no 'Tube today. I wanted to, but I just didn't have time to pull it together.

I am now in the last three-ish weeks of the semester, and Crunch Time has officially begun (it manifested itself today, as I sat staring at my computer screen trying and failing to write cogent sentences for my paper, which oh by the way I'm presenting a week from tonight). The good news is, on December 8th I will get to have another Mel Gibson moment (which will mark exactly 12 months until I finish grad school, for those of you keeping track) and a little over a month off to decompress, do the birthday and Christmas thing, and all that fun stuff. The bad news is, the next three weeks are going to be their own special little plane of the Hell, and I'm out of sunscreen.

This whole semester has been a little off-kilter for me, starting with my textbook issues and never quite settling down the way I thought it should. I think this was the first semester I hit real fatigue with the whole grad school thing (not surprising, I guess, two years in). Whatever it was, I've had a much harder time focusing on the work this semester, and it's got me a little behind heading into the home stretch. I absolutely cannot wait for it to be over, but it's going to be kinda rough between now and then. So my four day weekend will really be four days of nonstop project and paper work with a short break on Thursday to go visit some local cousins for Thanksgiving*. I'm really looking forward to that, partly because they're wonderful people, and partly (okay, largely) because having local plans means I will not be among the frustrated masses trying to get from here to there throught the ironically-unfriendly-considering-it's-a-holiday skies. Travelers, I wish you luck, but better you than me. If it's any consolation, the chair at my desk does not recline, I will have to get my own peanuts and drinks, and I will be sitting in this chair for far longer, delays or no, than you will spend in transit. So if you're into comparative misery, tuck that away for during your canceled connection through Chicago.

All of this to say: the blog might get a little neglected for a few weeks. The irony, of course, is that it was just last week that I alerted my friends to the fact that I have a blog in the first place, so now that they know about it and might actually stop in to check it out, they get the blog equivalent of elevator music and "Please continue to hold. Your call is important to us." I guess on the upside, plenty of time to check out the archives.

But most importantly: have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Enjoy the food, and your families, your friends, your parties of one, whatever makes your world a better place. For those of you that are traveling, I will keep my fingers crossed that the skies stay clear and safe, and that the roads are at least somewhat less rage-y than ususal getting out of DC this time of year (and let's be honest, that would be a huge improvement).

If you do happen to be in town wandering around Arlington over the next couple weeks, and you come across a whimpering, fetally-positioned gentleman crying for his mommy, don't be alarmed. It's probably just me on a 'study break,' out 'stretching my legs.' It will pass. But please, no kicking.

*I would just like to point out, as is my habit, that to my knowledge Virginia Tech is the only major university that actually consumes its mascot as the centerpiece of a national holiday (partial credit to Arkansas, if you assume that razorbacks (wild boar = pig) count for Christmas). I have no idea what that means, but I am sure that it is critically important. Or it's just funny.

Two 'Tube for Tuesday: Denis Leary, Rocker

If you've listened to Denis Leary's No Cure for Cancer, then you're undoubtedly familiar with his classic song, "Asshole." What you may not realize, if you didn't spend the kind of time watching MTV that I did as a kid, is that Denis actually had his very own episode of MTV Unplugged, with his very own band (that backed him up on "Asshole"). They've shown up with him at various events (hosting gigs and whatnot, particularly Comics Come Home, as I recall) over the past few years, and are apparently still playing together at shows.

First, a clip from the original Unplugged show, "Traditional Irish Folk Song" (which was also on No Cure for Cancer, I think, but gets a little added bonus here):


And second, the real reason for this post, a recent (by virtue of subject matter) performance, which also marks the first grab from the MySpace video collection, "Mel Gibson Blues":
Mel Gibson Blues

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Good, wholesome, family fun. It's just the Leary way.

The sincerest form of flattery

One more quasi-political thing, then I'm done. And this is less about politics, really, than funny.

Distillation of Bush on Rumsfeld:
"You know, I actually endorsed Rummy before I fired him."

Somewhere, John Kerry is howling.

Vicious Cycle

I hate politics.

Okay, so that's not entirely true. I like politics just fine; I like talking politics with anyone who has a reasoned opinion and a willingness to debate. It's the political process I can't stand. More specifically, I have come to absolutley loathe the campaign process, and the current state of political discourse in this country. It's this time of year, the tail end of election cycles, that I am least proud of the American political system, in terms of the means by which the people who seek to govern get themselves elected, because it is in that very situation where they behave least like the kind of folks we should, as a nation, be putting in any kind of leadership role.

The state of politics in this country has been in a serious decline, in my opinion, for at least the past six years, and probably more like the past eight. The latter part of the Clinton administration was probably the beginning of the slide, but our current president has thrown the nose straight down and punched the afterburners since taking office. It's ironic, in a way, because he spent quite a bit of energy in his original campaign talking about wanting to unite the parties, and work together to accomplish great things. He wanted to be, in a modification of a more recent reference, the Uniter. Since then, he's become the Decider, and by and large the Divider. Regardless of your political leanings, you can't, by any objective measure, point to a single thing that this administration has done to improve relations between the parties, either in the legislature or the voting public. It's as if the word 'bi-partisan' was anathema, perhaps because it involves the prefix 'bi-' and we all know how uncomfortable that notion makes conservatives, compassionate or otherwise. But I digress.

Consider for a second the nature of campaign communication. Specifically, the kinds of things that the various parties and organizations put on television. Nobody really runs for anything anymore; it's all running against the other guy. And nearly every stance is predicated on fear: in the 2004 elections, Bush wanted you to vote for him because you were scared of Al Qaeda; Kerry wanted you to vote for him because you were scared of Bush. That's really all it amounted to, the whole election. And it hasn't gotten any better. It just keeps getting worse.When is the last time you saw a campaign ad that was less than a full-throated assault on the opposing candidate, in some cases for things that are completely unrelated to the issues of the campaign? It's all finger-pointing, oversimplification and a lot of misrepresentation, from both parties. I stared in amazement at the kind of commercials being aired in northern Virginia the last couple of weeks. Not a single positive ad, or not more than one or two. And the level of negative is just off the scale.

Both sides do it because, sadly, it works. In a lot of ways, I blame the American public, because we as a group not only tolerate this kind of trash, we make no bones about preferring it, both in our entertainment as well as our politics. Moreover, we crave it. We really can't get enough of it, the more vehement and brazen the better, in a lot of cases. And forget depth. We can't have that. Just give us straw men, the more the merrier! Any platform position that takes more than a single, three-second sentence to sum up is waaaaaay beyond our attention span anymore. Heck, if we have to actually read something to understand it, it can't possibly be that important. We should be more careful what we wish for, because we get it every time.

As an example, I submit the "Same-Sex Marriage Ban" that looks all but guaranteed to become part of Virginia's constitution. Never mind for a second that it's the 21st century and we're still codifying intolerance and bigotry into the fabric of our government; I could spend an hour on that alone, but not now. The effect of this amendment is pretty significant for unmarried straight couples as well, the way I understand it. No more rights. None. Period. Cohabitating for a few years, got your assets combined and just haven't seen the need to go official? Tough. This amendment is meant for you, too. There is some question as to whether written contracts could even be enforced in a situation like medical decisions. Oh, and common law? It will be interesting to see how that holds up. I wonder if the rural voting community thought about that at all when they went charging out to the voting booth. But I would be willing to bet that the vast majority, rural or otherwise, never read that far down in the language of the amendment. Gays? Married? Well, we'll just see about that. How could it possibly be more complicated? Wait, it is? Then allow me to plug my ears and sing. La-la-la-la-la, I can't hear you....

It's just saddening that at this point in history, our country is at the mercy of the fringes of both parties. It's true, and it will always be true, until moderates start shouting. I firmly believe that there are more of us than there are of them, but moderates are by nature, well, moderate, which makes us a less-loud, and unfortunately a therefore less powerful, group of people. I know very few people from either side that are all that happy with their party right now, but the nature of the two-party system leaves little in the way of options. So it's a matter of picking the lunatics that worry you less and just keeping your fingers crossed. And the conduct of politicans as a group isn't making great strides to inspire confidence, either. It's like used car salesmen and lawyers are just glad that someone is bumping them out of the top spot of people we wouldn't trust to walk our dog, and yet these are the people who are steering this country into the future. Need some Dramamine? Hang on, it might get a little bumpy.

Now, all of that said, let me say this: I love this country, I would far rather be here than anywhere else. I recognize and appreciate that the system in place allows me the freedom to say these sorts of things without fear. I'm not anti-American, anti-democracy, anti-military, or any of that crap; the truth is quite the opposite, so leave that nonsense at home. I am just troubled by the way the game is being played these days. I really don't think it's good for any of us, long-term, and unless something dramatic happens to make that clear, we're going to take more steps back than forward, which endangers our position on the world stage in addition to the problems it creates within our own borders.

But I voted. I did my part. I will say that it was a pleasant surprise to find that my polling station was all of a block from home. But I just wish that the people that I was voting for would behave more like the kind of people we want, and really need, them to be.

I would never have guessed it would be so much to ask.

Two 'Tube for Tuesday: Thanks KassyK

I almost skipped this week, because of a pileup of work and grad school, but then I saw the title of Kassy's post today, and I just couldn't.

The "Choppin' Broccoli" song is quite possibly the funniest thing Dana Carvey has ever done (that didn't involve a funny wig and nerd glasses). It was made into an SNL skit, but my memory of it has always been from his stand-up. Here is the stand-up version, which gets a little more of an intro to the idea.


And if we're talking about Dana Carvey, then of course we have to have a moment with the funny wig and nerd glasses.


Party on.

What a difference...

Five weeks ago: loss to Georgia Tech, 2 starters suspended.
Four weeks ago: loss to Boston College, 2 starters suspended (different players this time).
Two weeks ago: beat then-#10 Clemson by 17 at home.
This week: beat Miami by 7 in Miami.

Isn't it amazing what can happen when you manage to keep your starters from getting arrested? I'm pretty sure there's a lesson in there someplace.

And while we're at it:

What's a Hokie?
That’s the most often-asked question
regarding Virginia Tech athletics. The answer
leads all the way back to 1896 when Virginia
Agricultural and Mechanical College changed its
name to Virginia Polytechnic Institute.

With the change came the necessity for
writing a new cheer and a contest for such a
purpose was held by the student body. Senior
O.M. Stull won first prize for his "Old Hokie"
yell which still is used today.

Later, when asked if "Hokie" had any special
meaning, Stull explained the words he used had
no hidden or symbolic meaning, but had been
thought up in an effort to get attention. Hokie
soon became a nickname for all Tech teams and
for those people loyal to Tech athletics.

Two 'Tube for Tuesday: Whose Line

I'm apparently one of the twelve people nationwide who actually watched Whose Line is it Anyway when it was on network TV, which always confused me because to my mind it was consistently funnier than most sitcoms. But whatever. It's been relegated to ABC Family on reruns, and that's fine. It seems that fans of the show have posted a ton of clips on the 'Tube as well. This is good news. So here are two of my favorites.

Improv is hard, and these guys do it extremely well, pulling off great comedy and never cracking a smile at their own stuff. Well, almost never. Some of the best moments, as far as I'm concerned, are when the people performing just can't hold it together, and crack up despite themselves.
First, Ryan and Colin in "Improbable Mission." Poor Ryan just can't hang.

And second, Wayne Brady doing "Song Styles" as a male strip-o-gram for a retired lunch lady. Quite possibly one of the best WLIIA scenes ever.