Real Men of Genius

Attention: Campaign! Badly losing....must try more dirty tactics...must spread fear...my face is getting fuzzy...reception weak...the maverick must find kryptonite....uuuuhhhh.

This is so good, I had to forward it on. Here's a post from someone named "Tom" on the CNN Political Ticker concerning the McCain pushes Obama connection to Khalidi story:

It's true: Obama has voted against puppies and rainbows on NUMEROUS occasions. His grandfather's neighbor's former college roommate was once seen "palling around" the same hemisphere as terrorists. Indisputable. REAL Americans know that flag pins are our guarantee of an afterlife, and that peace in the Middle East will only postpone the Second Coming.

Whoever you are Tom, I salute you. You are a real man of comic genius.

Sunday Series

I am now posting a video from the TED Lecture series in order to provide you with something constructive to view on Sundays. The Sunday Series is a response to the usual political slice-and-dice negativity you get on TV. It covers the positive, inspiring and constructive things going on in our world. The first video is of my hero, William McDonough. His talk is amazing. Watch.

The MAM

If anyone in Milwaukee or Chicago has time, I recommend going to the Milwaukee Art Museum to see Unmasked and Anonymous: Shimon & Lindemann Consider Portraiture, which is on display August 14, 2008–November 30, 2008. Really nice photos by the Wisconsin duo. The MAM has a nice online gallery of the exhibition you can peruse. Also, I have to say that you must see my friend Santiago Cucullu's installation, MF Ziggurat, which is running until Jan 4, and is part of the ongoing On Site exhibition series. He's got really terrific work up.

Freelancing

Freelancing is a battle with your own mind.

Six weeks on one tank - Week 1

Week one has not gone as well as expected. Well, technically I'm 10 days into this experiment, and I'm over my permitted usage for the week. My tank stands at 5/8 today. I had a business meeting in which I had to travel about 40 miles round trip, along with some other errands that ate up my tank. At this rate, I'm barely going to make it a month. It's important that I try to group all of my business and personal tasks into as few trips as possible, eliminating inefficient and/or redundant trips. Pimping out my routes using Eulerian circuits would help, too.

First Fire

Last night was the first fire of the fall season. It's pretty hard to beat sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold evening. I've been using fire logs from log jam, which are 100% natural hardwood logs made from compressed wood shavings. No creosote or wax buildup, and no petroleum binders. They burn hotter than cord wood, and are cleaner.

They are made by Log Jam, a company in Michigan. Every time I buy them, I think of Jackie Treehorn, which makes me happy.

ShopDropping

It's the holidaze already in retail stores, so I want to share with you (again) a cool site called shopdropping.net. It's a place to get our culture jamming fix. Their latest project involves modifying Hallmark cards, sharing them, and then of course dropping them back in circulation at popular retailers.

Chewie Loves Playing Records In His Spare Time

My New Glamor Shot

I have decided that I am going to offer hair-care services to help make ladies silky-smooth.

Tips For Our Candidates

John McCain:
1. Sarah Palin's son has Down syndrome, not autism. She's your running mate. Get it right.
2. Senator Obama's wife is Michelle.
3. Lose Joe the plumber. It's condescending.


Barack Obama:
1. Just Say No to cavalier sexual activity?

By simply remaining cool and confident, Obama wins post-debate polls and focus groups by 2:1. CNN just posted a a story stating that Obama crossed the electoral threshold. 277 to 174.

Campaign Update

From Oliver Stone's "W" premiering across the street from John McCain's hotel in NYC last night to Christopher Buckley's resignation from the conservative National Review days after endorsing Barack Obama's White House bid, to Lilibet Hagel-the wife of Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel-accompanying Michelle Obama at tonight’s final presidential debate, the bad news for McCain continues to pile up.

The Straight Talk Express just careened over a cliff, and is flipping end-over-end, like a "Toonces" skit on SNL, with hockey gear flying out of the windows and tremendous amounts of rouge exploding in a mad symphony of crimson dust.

When David Brooks says your running mate "represents a fatal cancer" to your party, it's time to pull over, buy a 6-pack of PBR, and put on Willy Nelson for the long drive home.

There are now no less than seven polls that show Obama with a double-digit lead (with CBS giving him 14 points), and he's surpassing all expectations for early vote returns.

Celebrity Look-Alikes

Flo Evans from "Good Times" (Esther Rolle) and David Ortiz.

p.s. - I'm not the first to make this connection. After some searching it turns out that one of David Ortiz's nicknames is "Flo," and several blogs have pointed this out. Still, when I saw a photo of Esther Rolle recently I couldn't help myself. It needs to be posted. As much as possible.

Here's another shot:

This thing is over

I have been following our election rather closely over the past month. Last week I came to the conclusion that this presidential race is officially over. I refrained from making any declarations for fear of sabotaging the outcome, but then realized that I'm not superstitious. Obama wins big. Anytime you hear pundits talking about Indiana being a possible swing state, you know that there is a lopsided victory in the making. It will be pretty historic, and McCain is digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole by going negative. Essentially he's saying: "I have no real economic plan, well, wait–I have a plan, but it's for the rich, and I can't get elected on that plan, so I'm going to attack the character of my opponent to try to cast some doubt." Maybe his campaign is confusing tactics with strategy. They trot out a lot of tactics, but they seem to have no real strategy.

One week it's about the economy, the next it's about character, then it's about abortion, and this week it will be about experience. But it's all based on fear, and I think people are tired of hearing it. I look for the McCain campaign to trot out about two or three more tactics before this is over, and I don't think it will make much difference. Their decisions have proven disastrous to the campaign, making Obama's look consistent and stable.

According to the polls (and my new favorite projection site, fivethirtyeight.com), McCain will have to win ALL of the swing states up for grabs, and then a current projected blue state or two to win. Thanks to Obama, McCain now has to spend a lot of time in traditionally red Virginia and NC, which cuts into his appearances in other swing states.

Overcoming a double-digit deficit late in the game isn't impossible, but it hasn't been done since Reagan over Carter in 1980, and that was the ONLY time since Gallup polling (1936) that it happened this late in the season. It looks like Obama's riding a wave that's bashing McCain. No matter what the Maverick does, he buries himself deeper. Where's Goose?

It's over, folks.

Six weeks on one tank of gas

I am undertaking a challenge to see if I can go six weeks before filling the tank on my Nissan Maxima. First of all, you should know that I live in the metro area, so everything is close by. I freelance out of my house, so I don't commute to work. Daycare is a mile away. School is a mile away. I have three grocery stores, a Walgreens, US Bank, Chinese take-out, 3 pizza joints, and a few liquor stores all within blocks of our house. So the challenge isn't as steep as it may seem.

But there are a lot of little trips. And those trips all add up and eat away at my tank. Right now I'm going about three weeks between refuels on what I would call "normal" usage. I think I can double that average if I plan out trips and eliminate unnecessary excursions around town.

I filled my tank on October 8th. That means I have to make it to November 19th before refueling. Look for super exciting weekly posts on my progress, because I know that this will be a compelling and gripping saga.

The Beekeeper

My wife wants to keep bees with Queen Latifah.

John McPenguin

This clip needs no introduction, nor does it need any explanation.