Media and So On...

This is great.

All three major cable news networks are wasting valuable air time on Senator Obama's former pastor. Why? Is the story newsworthy? Sure. Is wall-to-wall Wright coverage more important than Iraq or gas prices or the climate crisis? No way. But Reverend Wright is a scary, shouting black man and scary shouting black men equal ratings-sweet-ratings.

It comes from this post at HuffingtonPost.com.

Nothing to add, so I'll move along...

My annual A.I. post:

This season has featured public butcherings of two of my favorite song catalogues -- The Beatles and Neil Diamond. The latter was last night. Holy crow.

There were definitely a few good ones -- Syesha's "Thank the Lord for the Nighttime" and D. Cook was good both times out. Brooke's "I Am I Said" came off well. The others though?

The problem with songs like the Beatles' or Diamond's are that they are centered on fairly simple melodies and written to be sung fairly straightforwardly. Is that a word? Anyway, the kids on the show can't help but oversing because they've been lead to believe that vocal runs and so forth are going to win votes. Great melodies be damned!

Honest to Pete, if Aurchuleta had butchered "Sweet Caroline" any more by singing everything BUT the melody, I would have been sure it was a put on. As it is, I have doubts. Seriously, between him and that dreadlock kid it would have been hard to identify the songs if not for the recognizeable lyrics.

Song choices that should have been:
1. D. Cook -- "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" (the solo guitar and voice version from the mid-70's live album)
2. Archuleta -- "Heartlight" -- Kid's to cheezy it would have come off well.

Yeah. It sucked.

The Hits Keep Coming

I would have thought this was an April Fool's joke...(still holding out hope actually):


The first ad was silly, but at least it was...not sure how to put it. At least the first time the issue was recognizeable in that we all imagine that the President could be woken in the middle of the night with a phone call regarding a national security issue.

But are we really meant to think that the housing market/economic slide would cause a dead-of-night call? Really? It can't wait 3 hours?

It's laughable.

Of course, she'll win PA as anticipated and she'll continue to trot out the Comeback Kid horsepoo. (Note to Hillary: If you are ahead in EVERY SINGLE POLL before a primary and then you win the primary, it's not a comeback. It's not an upset.)

Ralph Nader Can Go Fuck Himself

Just saw on CNN that he's running again.

What a collosal prick this guy is. Seriously. Of course, the reality is, he's not as bad as the jackasses who vote for him. Even if he didn't run and the tools who would vote for him stayed home, at least the good guys wouldn't have to waste resources fending off his attacks.

Memo to Nader: You've already screwed America out of the greenest President we would ever have had. Knock it off!

That's all.

Barack Obama for President

'Tis political endorsement season. I wanted to make sure to get this up here today so that subsequent rants have context. It's pretty simple, really. To me it's simple. Barack Obama should be the next President of the United States.

I loved Bill Clinton. I wish he was still President. I'll be devastated if his wife wins the nom. Nothing against women, but definitely something against that woman. She's a carpetbagging phony who is pleased as punch to hold office based on her husband's legacy. The latter, that she's cool with living and serving in Bill's shadow, is why she's a horrible woman for the presidency.

I can't wait to have a woman President. I think that it's extraordinarily important to the country that we elect a woman to the White House. However, I don't think that electing a woman based on her husband's legacy (or good vibes or whatever people miss about Bill) is the way to go in breaking barriers. I'd argue the opposite - it further entrenches the American patriarchy.

Barack Obama has exhibited the kind of leadership and judgement a President should posess. His Presidency would make me proud of my country in a way I haven't been since...

So that's that. As Super Tuesday unfolds, I really hope my fellow Dems are of similar mind.

Happy New Year!

Yay! 2008!

Oh. I never finished bitching about VH1...

Yeah. I'd meant to finish my ever-fascinating list of objections to VH1's top 10 lists.

The final installment was Top 10 Rock Bands. Here's what they came up with.
10. AC/DC
9. Black Sabbath
8. U2
7. The Clash
6. Queen
5. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
4. Pink Floyd
3. The Who
2. Led Zeppelin
1. Rolling Stones

Holy shit. Where are the Beatles? I get that a lot of people are going to put the Stones up top and Zeppelin and the Who and so on, but how can the Beatles be left out?

U2 is a better band than the Beatles? Pink Floyd is better than the Beatles? Really?

The only possible explanation is that VH1 couldn't get the rights to play a Beatles' video (yes, they did shoot short films for several of their singles -- a precursor to music videos) as part of the show, so they left them off the list. Otherwise, there's no justification.

U2? U2?

A list, off the top of my head, of bands I'd place ahead of U2:
Well, obviously, the Beatles. The Velvet Underground; The Beach Boys; Buddy Holly and the Crickets; The Ramones; Talking Heads; The Cure; The Smiths; The Pixies; Joy Division; (what the heck) Nirvana; REM; Radiohead...

I'm not saying U2 is a crappy band by any stretch. To me, though, they're a little bit limited. Like Aerosmith. Or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Capable of nice songs, but ultimately, the best thing they do can (and is) done better by other people.

Anyway, here's how the list would have looked had I been consulted:

10. The Pixies
9. The Ramones
8. Buddy Holly and the Crickets
7. The Clash
6. The Who
5. Led Zeppelin
4. The Velvet Underground
3. The Beach Boys
2. The Rolling Stones
1. The Beatles

Tagged Again

The Colt tagged me. Here is the deal-io: Share 7 random or weird things about yourself. Tag 7 people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. Let each person know they have been tagged. But most of the people I know have been tagged in her post so here goes nothing.


1. Both of my pinkys are bent. They bow inwards. I've been told this is caused by a dominant gene, but I'm not sure about that.


2. The first piece of recorded music I recall owning was an 8-track of the "Rocky" soundtrack. I'm trying to think of ways this has affected my life, but no luck.


3. I'm a better than average basketball player. Were you to see me in person, that might come as a shock, given my build, but honestly, I'm not too bad.


4. My favorite number is 28. I've no idea why.


5. Never broken a bone. This is not an invitation to break something on me should you see me on the street.


6. "Little Drummer Boy" is my favorite Christmas song. There are many great recordings, but the Neil Diamond version is superior.


7. I'm a paralyzingly picky eater. The lists of fruits and veggies I'll eat is a short one:

• Green bean
• Potato
• Banana

That's about it. I'll eat carrots as well I guess. And asparagus and broccoli, but I've got to get myself mentally ready to do so. Of course, I'll eat things made from other veggies (spaghetti sauce for example), but, you know.

It kinda sucks being such a picky eater, truth be told. I'm no fun, for example, at an all-you-can-eat Asian buffet because I just keep going for the ribs and chicken.

My sincerest gratitude for the patience that has been shown by those who have been directly affected by my picky-ness.