4/30/08
You look like a man-o-lantern
On 4th or 5th viewing, the waxing scene in 40 year old virgin ... still hilarious.
Die Already! (Or at least go away)
This probability of Clinton winning the primary seems about right to me. It has gone from a low of about 9% to a high of about 13% over the month I've been watching it. In other words, people are talking a lot, but not too much has changed. Hillary remains a massive long shot.
4/29/08
4/24/08
Vote ...
...for Obama.
I just missed voting against Jesse Helms, and voting against Bush twice was pretty damn gratifying, but I can easily say that I've never been happier about voting *for* someone that I was today. I really hope he wins.
I just missed voting against Jesse Helms, and voting against Bush twice was pretty damn gratifying, but I can easily say that I've never been happier about voting *for* someone that I was today. I really hope he wins.
Kenny Smith Jumping Over Car
This segment on Inside the NBA on TNT of Kenny Smith attempting to copy the Kobe Bryant video where he (fake) jumps over an Aston Martin is pretty damn funny.
4/23/08
4/21/08
4/19/08
Bittergate, meet Intimigate
At a closed door fund raiser a few weeks ago, Obama said something very apolitical about people being "bitter" and "clinging to" guns and religion in response. It was a dumb thing to say for lots of reasons and it has rightfully become a central theme of the campaign, and will probably remain as such until November and beyond.
Now the following quote came out from a closed door Clinton fundraiser a few months ago:
As recently as a few months ago, I would've told you that even though I'm going to vote for Obama, I both like and respect Hillary Clinton. Recently, I've been dropping the word "like" from that sentence. She's been a pretty cold-hearted and divisive and a not-at-all-likable campaigner, but I still respected her since I genuinely though that she had the country's best interests at heart, even if it was only in her own mind. Hell, I've advocated and hoped for an joint ticket for some time.
That's over now. I genuinely don't like or respect this woman. The above quote makes it abudantly clear that she doesn't respect my political views and that she will literally do anything it takes to win the nomination regardless of how it effects her party or her country. I suppose I would begrudgingly vote for her over John McCain if there was no legitimate third party option, but that's a hypothetical that I doubt will materialize. At this point, I honestly hope that she stays in the race as long as possible, goes down with the ship and then just goes away.
Now the following quote came out from a closed door Clinton fundraiser a few months ago:
We have been less successful in caucuses because it brings out the activist base of the Democratic Party. MoveOn didn't even want us to go into Afghanistan. I mean, that's what we're dealing with. And you know they turn out in great numbers. And they are very driven by their view of our positions, and it's primarily national security and foreign policy that drives them. I don't agree with them. They know I don't agree with them. So they flood into these caucuses and dominate them and really intimidate people who actually show up to support me.I'll be very curious to see how the media handles this compared to "Bittergate". When Obama says something stupid there is some thought behind it. Hillary on the other hand comes from a place of pure political calculation. Barack's move was politically stupid, because it criticized swing voters, but at least there was a grain of truth (a very poorly worded grain of truth that I'm not even sure is really true) behind his statement. Hillary on the other hand just seems bitter because she lost votes so she makes negative (and coincidentally false) statements about the base of her own party simply because they disagree with her.
As recently as a few months ago, I would've told you that even though I'm going to vote for Obama, I both like and respect Hillary Clinton. Recently, I've been dropping the word "like" from that sentence. She's been a pretty cold-hearted and divisive and a not-at-all-likable campaigner, but I still respected her since I genuinely though that she had the country's best interests at heart, even if it was only in her own mind. Hell, I've advocated and hoped for an joint ticket for some time.
That's over now. I genuinely don't like or respect this woman. The above quote makes it abudantly clear that she doesn't respect my political views and that she will literally do anything it takes to win the nomination regardless of how it effects her party or her country. I suppose I would begrudgingly vote for her over John McCain if there was no legitimate third party option, but that's a hypothetical that I doubt will materialize. At this point, I honestly hope that she stays in the race as long as possible, goes down with the ship and then just goes away.
4/18/08
Arcade Obamachunk ... SuperBarack O'Fire
This would be amazing.
(via Ted and Compton)No official confirmation yet, but Carrboro officials are planning for one of the largest crowds in town history after the board of aldermen greenlighted a request by the Barack Obama campaign to hold a major event Friday afternoon, May 2 at the Town Commons.
Town Manager Steve Stewart said the event, a concert and rally for the Illinois senator and leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, would be unprecendent since it will happen during business hours, while typically large events at Town Commons are held on weekends. The Obama campaign asked for the time slot, he said, because they want to be able to encourage attendees to take advantage of the early-voting site nearby at Town Hall.
The bands have not been announced, but several local music sources said that Superchunk and popular Canadian band Arcade Fire will make up the bill. In recent weeks, Arcade Fire has been playing Obama rallies. Stewart said that organizers expect between 3,000 and 4,000 people to attend the event.
4/17/08
Greek Cakes
Jon posted a bunch of very nice pictures of his trip to Greece last summer on Facebook. This definitely has me excited for my China trip coming up in a few weeks.
Cakes are these online anywhere else so that I can link to the whole set?
Cakes are these online anywhere else so that I can link to the whole set?
Philly debate thoughts
I just finished watching the debate and reading some of the reactions online. The general response seems to be that 1) ABC was unfair to Obama and 2) He didn't perform well as a result. I actually disagree on both counts. ABC wasn't great, but it was no worse than a average. There was about a 1:1 ratio of scandal to policy, which isn't too bad considering their platforms are so damn similar, and it's boring to watch the two of them argue about minute policy differences for 2 hours. My one real complaint is that they didn't press HRC on her path to the nomination, but that is a double edged sword for Obama anyway.
As for Obama's performance, sure he got asked about a lot of scandals (Wright, Bittergate, Ayers), but I thought he responded forcefully and generally pivoted to his "elevate the discourse" talking point efficiently and quickly. His perceived outsider status ties in to his call for change and remains his biggest strength, and he played off it constantly. Plus, the flip-side to ABC putting Obama on defense is that it made Hillary look much more aggressive and negative than she actually was tonight. Frankly, she seemed desperate, and that is the surest way to end this race quickly. Obama also did a nice job on the policy questions (not that anyone will notice).
The end result of this debate (like all the others) will be almost negligible. Obama didn't implode and thus remains the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination.
As for Obama's performance, sure he got asked about a lot of scandals (Wright, Bittergate, Ayers), but I thought he responded forcefully and generally pivoted to his "elevate the discourse" talking point efficiently and quickly. His perceived outsider status ties in to his call for change and remains his biggest strength, and he played off it constantly. Plus, the flip-side to ABC putting Obama on defense is that it made Hillary look much more aggressive and negative than she actually was tonight. Frankly, she seemed desperate, and that is the surest way to end this race quickly. Obama also did a nice job on the policy questions (not that anyone will notice).
The end result of this debate (like all the others) will be almost negligible. Obama didn't implode and thus remains the overwhelming favorite to win the nomination.
4/16/08
Barack, The President
God, I hope he wins. Watching the debate on Tivo, his answer to the question about whether he would adhere to a firm timeline for getting out of Iraq was absolutely pitch perfect; it was maybe the most presidential I've ever seen him. I'm too tired to paraphrase it with any integrity and too lazy to transcribe it all, but I'll see if I can track it down on youtube tomorrow.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe
The title of the new X-Files movie was released today: The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I'm not a big fan of this title but I'll definitely still see the movie. For me, The X-Files was like LOST before LOST, so even though I haven't thought about (or watched) The X-Files in years, the idea of a new movie certainly intrigues me.
The Hobbit
So I was just browsing imdb to see what new projects the Mexican masters (del Toro, Cuaron, Innaritu) are working on and to my surprise I see that Gullermo del Toro (the genius behind The Devils Backbone and Pan's Labryinth) is attached to direct The Hobbit movie. Somehow I have missed this news up to this point. This brings me unbelievable amounts of joy. I honestly think I'm even happier about this than if I had heard Peter Jackson had resolved his feud with New Line and had agreed to direct the movie himself. What Peter Jackson did with the original trilogy was incredible but just thinking about del Toro recreating Tolkien's world has me giddy. Even more so than Alfonso Cuaron and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, it's a match made in heaven.
C-List Co-worker
I'm pretty sure Dave Foley of News Radio fame reknown ... just of News Radio, works at my office using a clever pseudonym. More later ... Actually, that pretty much all I have to say, so no more later.
4/15/08
Ty Lawson
This article is very promising regarding the chances of Lawson returning next year. The (hopefully) telling portion:
With his parents pushing him back towards school and Roy supposedly advising him to stay for another year, along with his falling draft stock, I can't imagine Ty leaving at this point. Thank you Ms. Lawson.
And no matter what happens with Wayne, if Ty stays, there's no way Tyler leaves with us being the favorites to win the championship next year (crossing fingers).
“We haven’t talked about it yet,” Jackie Lawson told The Fan Sunday night. “Right now it’s a return to school.”
She added that she expects her son to be enrolled in the first session of summer school, too.
With his parents pushing him back towards school and Roy supposedly advising him to stay for another year, along with his falling draft stock, I can't imagine Ty leaving at this point. Thank you Ms. Lawson.
And no matter what happens with Wayne, if Ty stays, there's no way Tyler leaves with us being the favorites to win the championship next year (crossing fingers).
NC Democratic Debate
I'm not sure the details are completely finalized, but you can still sign up now for a chance to receive tickets to the NC Democratic debate. And if you get an extra, you can take me.
4/13/08
The Masters: A Nap Unlike any Other
Golf is boring, but in HD it's kind of pretty and it puts me to sleep more quickly than half a dozen benadryl.
4/12/08
Battlestar Galactica, Season 4 (Episodes 1 and 2) - 6.5
Although I remain excited for concluding season of Battlestar Galactica after watching the first 2 episodes, it sure does feel like they have a long way left to go, and not much time to get there. The first two episodes were good, but not among the show's best. They definitely reboot the show and set sights on the finish line, but I'm not completely sure I like the direction they're going. The religion vs. reason discussion has always been an underlying theme of the show, and now it's moved to the forefront and it's pretty clear it's not going to move out of the spotlight for the balance of the show's run.
I don't mind the religion theme, but it's hard to pull off and tends to lead to lead to some great scenes (e.g. Baltar this season) followed immediately by purely mediocre ones (most of Starbuck and Adama this season). The best episodes of the series, New Caprica prime among them, have always been highly politicized and fairly actioned packed, but I worry we're in for a final season with more words than action, which would be a shame.
I don't mind the religion theme, but it's hard to pull off and tends to lead to lead to some great scenes (e.g. Baltar this season) followed immediately by purely mediocre ones (most of Starbuck and Adama this season). The best episodes of the series, New Caprica prime among them, have always been highly politicized and fairly actioned packed, but I worry we're in for a final season with more words than action, which would be a shame.
4/11/08
Morning After
The cold hard light of day sure does make you wonder why you spent two and a half hours writing about toilets last night. Of course, it isn't even close to being the most ridiculous thing I've ever spent two hours writing about on this blog ...
4/10/08
Fantasy Toilet Choosing
There are three toilets in the men's bathroom at work and each has distinct strengths and weaknesses, so I can never decide which one to use. In short:
-Toilet one is right next to the urinals, so you can get pee on your foot.
-Toilet two flushes erratically.
-Toilet three is in the handicapped stall and has a faulty lock.
I've had good and bad experiences in each, but a decision needs to be made. So I present to you:
Wow, that was close, but the handicapped stall takes it, faulty lock and double amputees be damned!
-Toilet one is right next to the urinals, so you can get pee on your foot.
-Toilet two flushes erratically.
-Toilet three is in the handicapped stall and has a faulty lock.
I've had good and bad experiences in each, but a decision needs to be made. So I present to you:
Wow, that was close, but the handicapped stall takes it, faulty lock and double amputees be damned!
UNC NBA early entries
I just read some (potentially) exciting news on Inside Carolina premium from some posters that have 'sources' (sources that have been reliable in the past, which is why the news has me excited) that it looks like right now all three of Tyler, Ty, and Wayne could be returning. The buzz is that Roy will tell Ty and Wayne that they need to return to improve their games as well as their draft stock (both would probably be drafted mid 1st round at best, 2nd round at worst) and that he's going to tell Tyler that he'd be a late lottery pick (apparently there is at least one team who would trade up to take him) so it's up to him and his family...but apparently Tyler has already told some teammates he plans to return and he really is hell-bent on winning a title. I was worried that if both Ty and Wayne left, Tyler would think there's not a good enough chance to win a championship to pass up on the NBA, but with both of them returning, I bet he'll stay as well. Apparently, the most likely to leave of the three is Wayne due to family influence.
I would not personally begrudge any of the three if they leave because if I was given the chance to leave school and become a millionaire, god knows I'd do it in a second. However, with the ridiculous freshmen class almost entirely declaring (Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Bayless, Love, Gordon, etc), and our guys' stocks taking a hit with their performance against KU, there is a good argument that they'd be both better off basketball-wise and financially waiting a year to leave. Ty especially could go from mid-20s to top 10 if he were to wait (PG is stacked this year - Rose, Bayless, Augustin, Collison, Westbrook, to name a few, are guys who would almost definitely be drafted ahead of Ty).
I really hope they all come back and set us up as the clear #1 team for next year but right now, with every other top team from this year getting killed by early entries (KU's losing Rush, probably Arthur, and possibly Chalmers, UCLA Love, Collison, and maybe Westbrook, Memphis Rose and CDR probably, Texas probably Augustin, Stanford the Lopez twins (and their coach), Louisville Clark and Caracter, Tennessee possibly Tyler Smith...you get the idea) I'll be very happy if we get 2 of the 3 back and go into next year as an easy top 5 team and title contender.
I would not personally begrudge any of the three if they leave because if I was given the chance to leave school and become a millionaire, god knows I'd do it in a second. However, with the ridiculous freshmen class almost entirely declaring (Rose, Beasley, Mayo, Bayless, Love, Gordon, etc), and our guys' stocks taking a hit with their performance against KU, there is a good argument that they'd be both better off basketball-wise and financially waiting a year to leave. Ty especially could go from mid-20s to top 10 if he were to wait (PG is stacked this year - Rose, Bayless, Augustin, Collison, Westbrook, to name a few, are guys who would almost definitely be drafted ahead of Ty).
I really hope they all come back and set us up as the clear #1 team for next year but right now, with every other top team from this year getting killed by early entries (KU's losing Rush, probably Arthur, and possibly Chalmers, UCLA Love, Collison, and maybe Westbrook, Memphis Rose and CDR probably, Texas probably Augustin, Stanford the Lopez twins (and their coach), Louisville Clark and Caracter, Tennessee possibly Tyler Smith...you get the idea) I'll be very happy if we get 2 of the 3 back and go into next year as an easy top 5 team and title contender.
TV tonight
A reminder to everyone - The Office and 30 Rock return with new episodes tonight (April 10). I'm actually more excited for 30 Rock, which surprises me. Combined with a new episode of Survivor (in what has been a great season), a virtual playoff game between the Denver Nuggets and my bandwagon NBA team the Golden State Warriors, and MLB extra innings, it should be a great TV night.
4/9/08
John Adams - 4.0
I haven't been feeling very critical lately, so I'll make this review short. In fact, I think I can sum up the my feelings on the John Adams miniseries in 2 more sentences.
While it's nicely made, the show is almost uniformly boring.
John Adams was kind of a dick.
While it's nicely made, the show is almost uniformly boring.
John Adams was kind of a dick.
DNP - PUBIC SYMPHYSITIS
So I was looking through NBA box scores and noticed one of my fantasy players, Mo Williams, didn't play today because of something called pubic symphysitis (here's the box score). Maybe I'm immature, but I found that really funny. I mean whoever releases the injury reports must really have something against Mo. I have no idea what pubic symphysitis is but couldn't they have just said he sprained his ankle or had the flu or something?
4/6/08
Harold and Kumar 2!
Nothing can completely cheer me up after Carolina's rather painful loss to Kansas, but this comes close:
4/5/08
A Good Week
So thus far, this week has been pretty damned good to me.
1. I spilled water on my (2 month old) computer and thought I had fucked it up pretty badly when it wouldn't turn on at all for the next few days. I made an appointment at the Apple store to see if they could fix it, but lo and behold, I tried to turn it on after letting it rest for a day, and it had fixed itself - Steve Jobs is a genius.
2. I just won over $1100 in an online poker tournament (the first multi table tourney I've played online in a good 6 months).
3. I got accepted to UNC law.
Let's just hope my good fortune will continue and UNC will pull it out this weekend.
1. I spilled water on my (2 month old) computer and thought I had fucked it up pretty badly when it wouldn't turn on at all for the next few days. I made an appointment at the Apple store to see if they could fix it, but lo and behold, I tried to turn it on after letting it rest for a day, and it had fixed itself - Steve Jobs is a genius.
2. I just won over $1100 in an online poker tournament (the first multi table tourney I've played online in a good 6 months).
3. I got accepted to UNC law.
Let's just hope my good fortune will continue and UNC will pull it out this weekend.
4/1/08
The Beginning of the End of the Beginning?
I hope this isn't an April Fools joke as well:
Sen. Hillary Clinton's once commading lead in Pennsylvania is shrinking, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll. Clinton now leads Sen. Barack Obama by just five percentage points, 47% to 42%.If this is right and holds up, the primary could very well be over 3 weeks from today.
"For Clinton, that five-point edge is down from a ten-point lead a week ago, a thirteen-point lead in mid-March and a fifteen-point advantage in early March."
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