Salaam (for now)

I have a very important announcement to make.  I regret to inform all my readers--all 3 of you--that I will be suspending my blog until I find a real j o b.  

Until then, I hope everyone continues to keep up with important news issues, especially the economy and the campaign.  

Don't forget to vote, go to Voteforchange.com if you haven't done so already. 

Watch the debates. Yell at the tv. Then blog about it. 

Watch The Office on Thursday nights at 9pm.  It will make you whole. 

And most importantly, listen to Raphael Saadiq's new album.  

Head of the Party Planning Committee

I suddenly realized that I'm kind of the Angela Martin in my office.

I've become the unofficial Head of the Party Planning Committee. I always end up volunteering (or being asked to) organize the office minions for birthday/holiday/going-away/graduation lunch. Recently, I volunteered to organize the Pizza and Staff Meeting Lunch.

Hopefully, people don't completely write me off as a frigid bitch.

Here's to the Debate!

How do you plan on spending Friday night?!

Like every good American, I know you'll be watching the debate.

Don't worry, you can still get drunk tonight.

Skip the beer pong and enjoy these debate-drinking games!

Debate Drinking Games

All across the nation, the electorate is gearing up for the first presidential debate. And on the Internet, drinking games are popping up with some frequency. So take some lemons, make some lemonade and get ready to chug-a-lug. Here's an edited compilation of some of the prompts, with a few of our own sprinkled in.
Take one drink:

• Every time Barack Obama says, "Now look..."
• Every time John McCain says, "My friends..."
• When a commentator refers to someone as a "maverick"
• Every time you hear the phrase "the American dream"
• Whenever you hear the words "hope" or "ownership society" or "fellow Americans"

Take two drinks:

• When one of the candidates uses the word "change" or "reformer"
• Every time either candidate says the word "economy"
• Every time either candidate says "middle class"

Above all, drink responsibly. And be sure to save some lemonade for the Oct. 2 debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden.

(NPR is the best.)

Breaking News

John McCain can walk and chew gum at the same time:

Breaking News Alert
The New York Times
Friday, September 26, 2008 -- 11:31 AM ET
-----

McCain Will Participate in Debate

Senator John McCain will take part in the first presidential
debate tonight in Oxford, Miss., a campaign spokesman said.

Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na

Now that's a president you can count on. The kind that can multitask.
Like Oprah.

Palin's Crash Course in International Affairs

Sarah Palin is one lucky girl.  This week, the UN General Assembly is having a meeting which allowed the VP pick to do a little brownnosing and take Myspace pictures with some international hotshots. 

Here is how part of her meeting with the Asif Ali Zardari, the president of Pakistan, played out: 

At that point, Zardari entered and the conversation turned decidedly flirtatious. He told her she was "even more gorgeous" than he thought.

"You are so nice," Palin said. "Thank you."

Zardari pressed on: "Now I know why the whole of America is crazy about you."

At that point a Zardari handler asked them to shake hands again for the cameras.

"I'm supposed to pose again," Palin said.

"If he's insisting," Zardari said, "I might hug."

Eventually, real business got underway.

Palin, who has yet to hold a news conference since McCain plucked her from relative obscurity on Aug. 29, even answered a reporter's question as to how she enjoyed her meetings.

"It's going great," she said. "The meetings are very informative and helpful. A lot of good people share an appreciation for America." 

At least she's getting hands-on international relations experience, yannowhatimean. 

Choosing Sarah Palin as a VP running mate is like a pro-baseball club choosing a third base coach who has experience coaching tee ball AND little league baseball. 

Do you remember

Why?

A's fans know the drill. We bring in young, hot, and talented guys, we make it to the playoffs, then we trade those guys for even younger guys (and occasionally an older and more seasoned player), and the cycle continues. Every season, A's fans have something to be proud of. And although we are constantly ticked off by the announcement of another trade, we still come out and support

When we heard that the A's may move to San Jose, then it was the area near Great America, and then Fremont, not every Oakland fan was jumping for joy.

But the possibility of moving the A's outside of California? Give me a break.

Honestly, A's fans are like the victims of an abusive marriage. We keep taking the hits and the disappointment. We always come running back. We make their sandwiches when they ask us to, we come out to the not-as-nice-as-AT&T-park Coliseum, we eat your bland hot dogs, and we put up with all the high-profile trades. For chrissake, don't leave.

We forgive you for putting us through hell sometimes. So stay!

And work harder to get that BART station built!

I hella heart the Oakland A's.

"Love Lockdown"

I'm not really feeling Kanye's new song, "Love Lockdown." 

But then again, it took me a few listens to get addicted to Danity Kane's "Damaged." 

Wanna Get Away?

This is pretty random, but I wish I could be in the Philippines right now.

Specifically on a beach somewhere on one of the Hundred Islands.

Happy Happy Birthday

to the person I've known since the 5th grade.


Good times.

Happy Birthday Tracy!

Whoa, this never happens...

Aged rock star arrested for drug possession. 

George Michael, better known among our generation as the guy who sang "Last Christmas," is arrested for being caught with drugs in a public restroom. 

Just for kicks (and because it is never too early for Christmas songs):

Wham!, "Last Christmas" 

PREP in the Daily Bruin!

I was searching pictures using The Google for the training guide I'm finishing up and I found a 1994 Daily Bruin article that briefly mentions PREP: 

The UCLA Pilipino American population  which includes almost 1,000 students  is represented by Samahang Pilipino, along with other groups including Pilipinos for Community Health and the Pilipino Recruitment and Enrichment Program. 

Good to know. 

See the full article. 

More Obama

Obama Magazine compiled Obama's front covers. Here are some of my faves: 

Cover Boys and Girls

"He's the biggest celebrity in the world." - Opening line to McCain ad, "Celeb." 

Check out Barack Obama's latest magazine cover.  (Compliments to Obama Magazine.)

I wonder how he feels about "Sex Pistol: The Woman Who Whipped 007" near his face. 

Yeah sure, Obama has celeb status. He recently held a fundraiser in B-Hills with a ton of Hollywood folks.  A-list celebs have been unabashedly supportive of Obama: Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johannson, George Clooney, and G-O-D herself--Oprah. 

He makes for a good celebrity because he's a photogenic guy. The McCain camp keeps mocking his celeb status but he can't help other people from being attracted to him. The McCain campaign had zero celeb status until they decided to bring on Sarah Palin 

Palin has a sketchy record (Troopergate, the Bridge to Nowhere money, her fundamentalist cred, etc.) but the media, the public that loves her, and even the people who hate her still can't get enough of her. And she's featured on the cover of US Weekely, featured on Vogue, mocked on SNL (touching on her lack of VP qualities and her milfness), the endless blog entries, and inane "news" stories, etc. If that isn't celeb status, then what is?  

And isn't Palin is the biggest celeb-reality star of all the candidates involved.  She's a small-town girl, she has interesting "quirks" (moose-whackin', fundamentalist, secessionist ties, her Tina Fey glasses, etc.), and she's gone from zero to "Hero" overnight. Doesn't that sound like the background of a typical Survivor contestant? 

By the way, didn't McCain appear SNL? Isn't SNL a stop for politicians, in order to yenno, like get regular ol'folk like them, to promote themselves, to look funny and approachable? Kinda like a celebrity? 

Watch John McCain sing Barbara Streisand: 

So why does John McCain choose to attack Obama for his celeb status? Why does being a celebrity have to be a bad thing? Doesn't everyone secretly yearn to become super famous? Is John McCain jealous that Obama is probably higher on the list in terms of celeb status?  

***UPDATE: Save the Date!

September 20-October 5th: Oktoberfest 

Save the Date(s)!

• September 26: Presidential debate in Oxford, Miss. 
• October 2: Vice Presidential debate in St. Louis, Mo. 
• October 7: Presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn. 
• October 15: Presidential debate in Hempstead, N.Y. 
• November 4: Election Day 
• January 20: Inaugaration Day  

From the preacher to my choir. 

Never again

George W. Bush, in Nashville, Tennessee, September 17, 2002: 

There's an old saying in Tennessee--I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee--that says, fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me--you can't get fooled again.

 

Currently (and shamelessly) listening to: Danity Kane, "Damaged" 

And don't forget to register to vote! 

Straight Talk

John McCain doesn't have the Straight Talk Express for nothing. 

"No, I'm calling you a f*cking jerk." - John McCain to fellow GOP Senator Chuck Grassley, when Grassley asked "Are you calling me stupid?", Feb 21, 2000 

What a stand up guy. 

Song of the Week

This week's pick for the Song of the Week is somewhat of an oldie:

Robin Thicke: Stupid Things

5 Reasons I why I love this song:
1) I heart good love songs.
2) Quality R&B. (The piano is hot, the melody is catchy, and he has a soulful voice.)
3) Cuuuuuuute and real lyrics.
4) Robin Thicke is irresistbly...talented.
5) Robin Thicke's singing voice in a word(s): sensual [seduction].

Okay, the fifth point doesn't make sense. Just listen already!

"So, I invite the media to grow a pair. And if you can’t, I will lend you mine."

LMAO. (I almost never use hip blog lingo, but this one sums it up pretty well.)

If you haven't heard of Sarah Palin, then you're either sharing a sleeping bag with Osama bin Laden in a dingy cave in the middle of nowhere (literally--because not even the the country that can spy on all of its citizens unbeknownst to them, still can't find him) or you're saving dolphins. 

Sarah Palin is all the rage right now. And when you reach a certain level of celebrity, you get mocked on SNL.

I'm having a hard time embedding the video right now.

You can still see it here.

Obama's moolah

One of the bastions of the Liberal Media Elite (TM)--the New York Times--is reporting that the Obama camp raised $66 million dollars in the month of August: 

But almost more important than Mr. Obama’s August total may be the fact that it came partly from a half-million first-time donors, most of them far from having contributed the full $2,300 per person allowed in any general election. 

I think there are two reasons this happened. 

1) Obama gave a hell of a speech at the Democratic National Convention. (And points to Sasha and Malia just for being cute after Michelle Obama's speech--yeah, you know that part won you over too.) 

2) John McCain, Sarah Palin, Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Joe Lieberman, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, and the rest of the 'Country First' brigade pissed off hella people.  

Okay, they're my reasons. 

Yeah, I'm still on a college budget. 

Let me put this in a way you can understand

Who is the average US voter? 

I tried to do 'The Google' search and the first ten hits were blog sites so I don't have any reliable statistics for you right now. (Sorry, I wanted to give you all Staight Talk (TM) but that would be like quoting Wikipedia for a history paper.)

 

I think the average US voter is the person that gets most of his/her political information from the 10 o'clock news (you know, right after the report the mayor's latest affair with a two-cent-lady-of-the-night and before the one on Brangelina's latest excursion to McDonald's), Good Morning America, Katie Couric and Matt Lauer, Extra, E! News, the Yahoo! front page, Oprah, and of course--the most reputable source--campaign ads.  

But the news--especially local news--totally suck at reporting anything that has to do with elections or presidential campaigns.  They just don't do politics very well.  

And its not their fault! Really, in many ways, its our fault. Or maybe we can blame it on our culture and society. 

The fact is, we're like crackheads when it comes to news, especially political news.  We want instant gratification.  You know, just enough to make you happy and keep ya going.  

News people (i.e. the big guys at Corporate who own like 100 different news subsidiaries and NBC) can't make money if we don't watch the news.  We won't watch the news if they do long, substantive news reports on the political haps. There's a reason no one--not even your Grandparents--watch C-Span.  They have to literally dumb down the news to get people to watch.  Its way more profitable to do reports on Paris Hilton's release from prison than to do extensive reports on McCain's latest rally speech.  

So what we get in the news are 4-5 seconds worth of sound bytes from those speeches and two seconds of video of McCain waving at an audience.  Awesome.  

And we don't complain! We're pretty happy with this system. 

But what ends up happening is people like Sarah Palin can become the next Vice President OR President of a small country known as America. 

So, to all the conservative or Republican-leaning "average" US voters, let me put this in a way you can understand: 

You know, but you can trust John McCain--he does have his own 'Straight Talk Express'--when he says the Republican party IS the party of change: 

No matter who wins this election, the direction of this country is going to change dramatically. But the choice is between the right change and the wrong change, between going forward and going backward.

I guess in McCain's case, Straight Talk stands for in-your-face, cross your fingers-hope to die-stick a thousand needles in your eye, honest to goodness rubbish. 

(Thanks for the comic.) 

Recess

I got enough writing done for today. 

Play time. 

When you feel like a Kawawa Bear--what not to do:

Eat your feelings.

When you're really feeling like a Kawawa Bear--what not to do:

Eat ALL of your feelings. 

Palin: A Real Amerrrri-Can Conservative

Sarah Palin is an interesting sort.  We all know the drill. She's a gun-totin', foxy, hockey mom, PTA mom, mayor, governor, vindictive bitch, pro-life, moose-huntin', caribou-eating parents, and God-fearing milf. 

Part of her appeal is that she represents the image of the American pioneer who can hunt, kill, and cook wild animals (like on Oregon Trail!).  From that image, you can extract all the other familar fluff: small-town values, traditional Amerrri-Can values, and a fierce Trust in God.  And you can keep going from there: "A government that doesn't stand in your way, but by your side.", Pro-Life, creationism, the Second Amendment, etc. 

If this campaign season were a movie, The McCain campaign would hands-down,  be given an Oscar for 'Best Picture.' The casting director picked the perfect person to embody the tenets of modern American conservatism.  And not only did she outshine her co-star, but she also minimized the roles of her castmates and even turned them into sexist, anti-feminist, and arrogant elites with every move they make with respect to her. 

Ultimately, I think she'll be a one-hit wonder. Kind of like Natalie Imbruglia.  She'll barely make the history books. In fact, she'll be a box in a history book--a sidenote about a millisecond of a period of time in America.  She's kind of important--she's the 2nd female Vice Presidential candidate of a major political party.  Second the best, right? (Or is it "Sloppy seconds?") 

With that, I'd like to leave you with a short video from Telegraph TV about what some regular British citizens think about Palin: 

They sound soooo much smarter than the average American person you can stop on the street. 

Guess who's joining the bandwagon?

The world wants an Obama-nation. 

Free Cheeseburgers and Beer!

Do you know if you're registered to vote? 

If not, you can check online via the Obama website. 

While you're there, feel free to drop $5.00.  (Seriously, its like the equivalent of one $5 sub at Subway, or one venti latte at Starbucks, or five things from the dollar menu--but this one actually means something.) 

Tree Huggers, Geologists, and Historians!

The cutting of trees at UC Berkeley commenced last Friday, despite months of protesting and protestors living in those trees. 

The tree cutting is supposed to make room for a new stadium (albeit to bring in more revenue for the school) despite the fact that it will be in close proximity to the Hayward Fault. Even worse, the area is home to a Native American burial ground. 

It is sad that UC Berkeley is determined to build this stadium.  Even the current stadium (that ginormous one where all the football games are played) shows damage from the Hayward Fault.  

Who they didn't talk about at the RNC: You

Barack Obama makes a great point in the video I'm posting below. We heard a heck of a lot of trash talk about Barack Obama and his community organizing days but they didn't talk about US--US as in the people who are are taking the heat from the sub-prime mortage crisis, people who don't have health insurance, people who are paying hire gas prices, etc.

The speakers at the RNC merely reiterated the modern Republican platform, (which you can easily Wiki at your own leisure,) jeered at Obama's poor resume because apparently all since graduating from college was community organizing, strategically avoided talking about Bush Jr., praised Reagan and all he's done, and chanted "U-S-A" at every chance they could like they were watching Michael Phelps swim for gold.

Everyone is saying it and I'm going to echo it right here: John McCain and company aren't talking about the issues. They're trying to appeal to the person who doesn't really pay attention to politics and pays more attention to ads than anything else for their political information by playing on cultural clues and identities. How many times in the past week and half have we heard "hockey mom," "PTA mom," or "moose hunter"?

Now I'm not trying to poke fun at these kinds of credentials, I mean we all know Theodore Roosevelt was a wild one who enjoyed roughing it out in the wilderness and hunting, and we have him to thank for the Panama Canal.

But seriously, Sarah Palin? She doesn't even have an iota foreign policy experience which her supporters seem to believe. Honestly, her credentials as a hockey mom makes me feel like anyone can be vice president or even the president. Why would we want that? Don't we want someone who understands the common person's problems and aspirations and yet shows exceptional talent for balancing those with problems of the nation as a whole?

Did her time as a governor of Alaska and as a mayor of the town of Wasilla give her the kind of experience that will allow her to make decisions on domestic policy and understand the ramifications they may have on our foreign policy? You can't think about American jobs without thinking about NAFTA or Most Favored Nation Status, AND without thinking about human rights and then the United Nations, and so on and so on and so on.

And given Obama's experience (and Biden's), my confidence will lie with him.

Anyway, here's the video I promised:

The Letter

Behind all the "rhetoric," who is the real Sarah Palin? Just Ask Anne Kilkenny. Supposedly a friend of the family, (and an enemy of Sarah Palin since 1996,) she rips Palin's experience and credentials in one biting letter. 

I'm always skeptical of The Source...but it is still an interesting read--almost movie-like. 

You have to read this.  

Song of the Week

I'm in love with this song.

Raphael Saadiq: Love That Girl

If you like to groove to old school tunes then I know you'll love it too.

Fuming

Sarah Palin, last night at the RNC: 

I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a "community organizer," except that you have actual responsibilities.

Before throwing away any credibility I have by calling her a quack, I would like to recommend some light reading. 

Go to Amazon or your local library and read Lisa McGirr's Suburban Warriors: The Origins of the New American Right.  It is about conservative movement in the 1960s started by community organizers or grassroots activists to get people like Barry Goldwater, Richard Nixon, oh and Ronald Reagan (who has practically become a god to the RNC zealots) elected into office.

Look, community organizing happens become real, common people are pissed off at the government which keeps screwing them over or is not paying real attention to them.  It is about initiating change from the bottom-up, you know, kind of like the community organizers of the Civil Rights Movement. 

But in Sarah Palin's world, she has more experience than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. because he didn't have real responsibilities.  He only helped organize the community to get them to stand up to racial discrimination and thereby initiating a strong movement against decades and decades of injustice in America towards African Americans.  

I don't even want to get started on the kinds of responsibilities Governor Palin has which makes her so much more qualified than the other candidates.  

 

A 'Mad' Good Show

Pencil this into your schedule: Sundays, 10pm, AMC. 

You need to start watching 'Mad Men.' 

I didn't do anything last Sunday because I was glued to the 'Mad Men' marathon. 

RNC Sound bite: Arrogance

On Day 3 of the RNC, Mitt Romney declared that America is "the greatest nation in the history of the earth."

I sooo totally agree. I'd like to add that I believe California is the besterest state and it has the most awesomest legacy in the entire world. Oh, and Earth is like infinitely the most preminent planet in the universe.

Westwood Shooting

In case you didn't know...

Last Thursday, around midnight, a 50-something male shot the traffic light on Broxton and Le Conte. Police found loads of ammo in his car.

Officials say the traffic light is in a critical, yet stable condition.

I just found out about it a few minutes ago from the LA Times.

Labor Day Video

This is just for kicks and giggles. Remember when the President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke at Columbia last year? Well around the same time, SNL went to work and actually came up with something funny.

So here it is, the Labor Day Video: "Iran So Far," a love song featuring Andy Samberg (as himself?), Fred Armisen as the President Ahmadinejad, Adam Levine providing some vocals, and a special cameo appearance by Jake Gyllenhall.



Happy Labor Day!

(Lazy) Scranton, Pennsylvania

Joe Biden has a new tv ad--"Scranton." Watch the short clip below where he talks about growing up in this lovely Pennsylvania town and how Barack Obama grew up with the same awesome/Amerrrican values. What a coincidence!


I first heard of Scranton three years ago, when The Office debuted in America. Watch the clip of Michael and Dwight in "Lazy Scranton" as they rap about the dopeness that is Scranton and simultaneously pay homage to the SNL Digital Short, "Lazy Sunday."