R.I.P.

RIP Robert Goulet.

You will live on forever in every college student's "Best of Will Farrell" DVDs.

A Very Merry Unbirthday to You...

Good Morning. Been a little since i've gotten to yell, mainly because they are actually giving me stuff to do at work.

Anyways,

Hey Baby, What's Up?

• The one in Queens had a birthday this weekend. Happy birthday! He's now in double digits =) (i kid)
• The one in England sent out his first e-mail update 'bout life at the big O. Twas nice to read.
• The one in DC got/is getting her cat. Shipped. To her. ....yay for tranqualizers, because i would think that cats don't like to fly....
• The one in Manhattan with me is probably ready to kick me.
• The one in Vassar (aka po-town) does was to kick me, and she will have the chance when i come up there on teh 16th to see her sing. Because she got a solo. yay!
• As for me, two plays, a job, and a boy is enough to keep you so busy you don't get to spend time with your boy, let alone your friends. So my apologies to one and all (I'm looking at you, Ben and Ali and Sasha). One of my shows goes up this weekend, and then i should have a modicrom of normalcy back.

Did i Mention i'm a Yankees Fan?

• -sigh- yes, this happened. good for you. Now you know what its like to be a winning team.
• See, this is just another reason that the Governator rules all others. Not that i particularly like getting high, but still...
  
• war of the cable tvs? you bet....
• Obligatory Iraq bulliten point
• Obligatory Turkey-Iraq point.
• Also in baseball news...what, 27 million not enough? Oh, i'm sorry, its because you're "not sure if Mo, Pettite, or Posada will be there." Sorry, my bad, i thought you were just greedy and wanted to win a world series.
  

I have thoughts on Huckabee, which i'll post later, if i am able.
Today's I-Ching: 58 "Joyful" going to 40 "Relief"

~M

Red Sox Nations? F That! Its a Colbert Nation!

You know, say what you will about Colbert's run for president ("he's just rehashing a joke that has been done by many satirists before him" "would you really want him to be your president?" "are you fucking stupid?"), there is a lot of insight to be gained from watching what happens.

First off, Colbert himself said in an interview he doesn't want to be president, he just wants to run for president.

Secondly, the effect he has had, and the news he has generated from announcing a (mock) bid. Pundits talking about his chances. Lawyers asking whether it is legal. People actually doing polls on it.

And have you checked the facebook group that got made a few hours after he announced? 1,000,000 Strong for Stephen T Colbert? Its been up for almost 8 days now....and has over 800,000 members. Did I join? yes. Is it a fad? yes. But the Barack Obama group and anti-Hillary groups on facebook have been up for months, and don't have as many (382,424 and 492,950 respectively), and they more than certainly were in style for a long time.

Do I really want him to be the President? (read: i find it interesting that the term "my President" is no longer used. Its been out of common use since Vietnam. And i find that sad) Of course i don't want him to be. But he is making a point about the extreme theatrical aspect of politics.

Take, for example, his timing. He published his book, went on a book tour, and stirred up buzz for it by appearing on talk-shows...and inevitably getting asked if he is going to run for president. Sound familiar? I'm looking at you, Obama. Its a common political balloon test. Is it a ridiculous (yet sadly effective) way to get your message out, make money, and test the waters? Like i said, sadly, yes. But thats not really the point.

After announcing his bid, Colbert went on Meet the Press. Now, Tim Russert is one of the most respected interviewers and pundits on Capitol Hill. He is considered the Man when it comes to asking politicians tough questions, debating with them, forcing them to actually, i dont' know, talk. Now, when i heard that it occured, i went online and streamed it from an archive of it. Russert decided to "play along" with his joke-persona of a guest. bad move.

There was a moment when Colbert was asked why he was running. His response was something along the lines of, because the nation is at a dynamic junction, or something. And it got a laugh, because, come on, its Colbert running for president...who actually says things like that?

But just think: If it had been Guilliani, Romney, Clinton, Obama, Edwards...any of the nominees saying that, would anyone have blinked an eye, let alone gotten a laugh? 5 bucks says Russert would have accepted that explanation and moved on to the next question. But with Colbert, because its a mock-persona, he delved deeper into what exactly Colbert meant by that, and ended up looking foolish.

Colbert did what he does best: lampooning the political machine and coaxing it into revealing just how much play-acting is involved. (i'm looking at you, every single person who reacted with indignit, righteous anger at the MoveOn.org General "BetrayUs" ad).

And I laugh at every pundit and blog that is surprised by the interest in Colbert's run; I laugh at every blog and pundit that is shocked when they learn that there are indeed a great swath of high-school and college aged kids who get most of their news from John Stewart and Stephen Colbert. It shows the disconnect of the generation above us (the one that runs the nation, btw) and our generation...even though they are the generation that claimed the same thing in the 60's and 70's.

Its no longer "My President."

Btw, as I write this...that facebook group for Colbert? 900,151. and counting.

~M

Something I Love About Heroes

You know, even if you dislike or don't watch the show, you have to give NBC props for its outside the show, interactive projects. The network goes out of its way to get you involved in the story line, trying to solve the mysteries, so you might be a bit more informed than the average person who watches the show.

What do I mean?

Firstly, if you go on the Heroes website, you will find a link to the "novels," which are exactly what they sound like. They are on, like, graphic novel 54 or something like that. Its updated every Tuesday morning so far this season. The novels themselves give back-stories on characters, filling in a lot of gaps. Ever wonder what Molly's nightmare is about (what she is dreaming now in her coma)? Thats the latest novel.

Remember random Israeli (i think) internet girl? From season 1, who gave Ted and Parkman the info on the injection needles? If you read the novels, you find out waaay more about her, not to mention Linderman, Mr. Patrelli...and you learn that she and Micah have become friends, currently hacking into Linderman's computer systems.

Oh yes, and it gets better. Because its more than just the novels. Characters have freaking blogs! Claire has a MySpace! Nathan has a campaign website! In the first season, Hannah helped you hack into hidden files on the Primatech Paper website!

My favorite right now, and the one that takes the cake, is if you find the link to Linderman's Casino's website. Go in, and you get messages from Micah and Hannah (the wireless girl), you see conversations they are having, and you can start to follow their hacking into Linderman's systems.

Currently, Micah is trying to find more about Hannah's family, and runs across a family tree. He then leaves a message for you to figure out (its not hard, but still), and when you do a search for the right thing, you find in the image archive a letter...in spanish. The online communities you can go to have translated. And today, theres another search for you to do, which leads to three crayon drawings (with, of course, the Godsend Kanji all over them). But we are left with a wtf? feeling and want to know more.

Over the summer, they put up the Yamagato Foundation website, which is dedicated to heroes thru the ages...and started by Kaito Nakamura, Hiro's father. So during the summer, you could learn about Takezo Kensei and get a sneak peak at what was going to happen in season 2.

I really to enjoy the interactive nature of the online stuff. It keeps me involved and liking the show even when i feel it is flagging a bit, and it makes you feel a part of it all...which is exactly one of the shows themes (I swear, if i hear Parkman tell one more person "I think its all connected" i'm going to take his own gun and shoot him).

Anyways, if you like the show and are bored waiting for the next episode, you really, really should read the stuff online.

http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/evolutions/

~M

Suggested Reading

For anyone who wants to know about Iran and any actual threat it poses, i highly suggest reading this.

What some people don't understand is that - while, yes, Iran having a nuke would be awful and terrible and all other amounts of bad things - it will never, ever, bomb Isreal. So stop telling me they will. Yes, they want them "wiped off the face of the planet," but they will never nuke them.

Mainly, because they would be killing oh, who knows how many millions of fellow Muslims. And more importantly, they would destroy what is considered to be about the 3rd holiest Islamic site.

For all the attention we pay him (i'm looking at you, Columbia, SNL, Neo-Cons, Bush...the list goes on...), President "there are no gays in Iran" Ahmadinejad does not really hold much power in Iran. Laugh in anyone's face who says otherwise.

Nonetheless, i believe it is a real possibility that we will attack Iran before Bush leaves office. Unless Turkey attacks Iraq and Russia becomes an even bigger player on the world stage than it has proven itself to be over this last year.

~M

thats kinda awesome

You know, it never really crossed my mind. But i think its kinda awesome. Thank you, J.K. Rowling!

~M

Another News Feed. Because Russia hates us

I kinda like doing this every so often. News i read!

Maybe Its Because Its Cold Up There?

• Anyone else starting to get worried about Russia? Bring back Rockie and Bullwinkle!
• Oh, and his Russian President-ness also weighed in on that little war we got going.

Speaking of that little war....

• Political reconciliation in Iraq? gtfo ---> because we aren't succeeding. But then again, who thought we would?
• Turkey may strike into Kurdish Northern Iraq, and theres not much the Iraq central governement can do about it. But hey, at least they don't have to worry about Genocide.
• On the news that Turkey may strike the oil-rich north Iraq...well, lets just say yay to the fact that i don't drive a car.

And then back home

• We don't much care for children here. Because, you know, fiscal responsibility is so much more important and all.
• Oh, but waterboarding? Thats nice and cheap, so thats ok! Or so says the AG nominee.
• -facepalm- Britney...
• LMAO! Now, i totally believe in getting rid of the second amendment, but this is just too funny. Do yourself a favor and read the headline.

Well, thats that. I'll be bored again later, and probably yell about something. most likely politics. I mean, the "Voter Values" summit is today, so i get to read about the so-called "correct" way to live my life!

~M