I think this old man is great. I wish more old people were like him.
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label obama. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Some exciting shizz
- Emmy-award winning and instant classic show 30 Rock is starting its 3rd season this Thursday! If you can't wait that long, NBC has a preview (practically the entire episode) on their website. In case you weren't already convinced, Tina Fey is a genius. Watch the new episode here.
- One of my favorite books of all time, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, is being turned into a movie. Director Gus Van Sant (To Die For, Good Will Hunting, Psycho, Paranoid Park) is heading up the production on the film. Read more about it here.- Dr. Pepper made some kind of bet with the United States that they would give every American a free Dr. Pepper if Guns 'n Roses releases their new album before 2009. Well, they've done it - and Dr. Pepper is keeping their side of the bet. Find out about your free Dr. Pepper here.
- One hit wonder band MGMT is continuing to hit it big with their only song, "Time to Pretend," as there are an endless amount of often hilarious remixes to it. Check them out here.
- In what can only be described as AMAZING, Crispin Glover has signed on to play a part in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (also starring Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and of course, Helena Bonham Carter). You may know Crispin Glover from such classics as Back to the Future, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Nurse Betty, Wild at Heart, and oh so many more mostly B-movies. Read more about it here.- Evidently, tomorrow night Barack Obama's campaign has bought a 1/2 hour on every major television network and he will be addressing the nation. Sheesh, how the hell much did that cost! How many voters could possibly be swayed at this point?
- I've been looking for a specific pair of Blueblocker brand sunglasses for the past few days, to complete my Walter Sobchak Halloween costume, but I seriously can't find them. If anyone owns these, has seen them somewhere or knows where to buy them at, LET ME KNOW!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
preamble ramble
I woke up today feeling good - like in a good mood. I actually sang in the shower. It's sort of a rarity these days, mostly related to a lack of interest in my current job. And by lack of interest I mean I want to get the fuck out of here ASAP. But this post won't be a rant about what exactly it is about my job I hate so much. That won't get me anywhere.
Instead, I'm going to use the time that I should be getting shit done at work to put down a short top 10 of those things that are currently giving me hope, or that I'm looking forward to, or simply make me smile. Let's begin.
1. The Rockets. We're on a 22-game winning streak. Best in the West. I have kickass seats to the game tonight against the Celtics. Awesome.
2. Tornados. Now I know that sounds weird - but I like them. I doubt I would like having one destroy my house, but they bring excitement into my life.
3. Sandwiches. I love sandwiches - probably all types. I had a roast beef and horseradish one at Brown Bag Deli today for lunch. It was delicious.
4. The prospect of getting a new car. It might be happening. Soon.
5. St. Patty's Day. Yes, it was yesterday but for me St. Patty's Day lasts an entire week. I still have green on today. And I will tomorrow.
6. My new puppy. I think he was birthed by the Devil, but I still love him. He's really cute.
7. Radar Detector Deterrent Detector Deterrent Detector Detector Deterrent...Detector............Deterrents. So much technology.
8. Television. In general - because to name off my shows this season would take a while. Here's a few. LOST. The Riches. John Adams. The Soup. Well, actually maybe that's it.
9. The Fam. Cause they're always there for me and don't ask questions.
10. Obama. An embodiment of the direction I want for our country.
In closing, I submit to you some of my favorite mc, Slug
Instead, I'm going to use the time that I should be getting shit done at work to put down a short top 10 of those things that are currently giving me hope, or that I'm looking forward to, or simply make me smile. Let's begin.
1. The Rockets. We're on a 22-game winning streak. Best in the West. I have kickass seats to the game tonight against the Celtics. Awesome.
2. Tornados. Now I know that sounds weird - but I like them. I doubt I would like having one destroy my house, but they bring excitement into my life.
3. Sandwiches. I love sandwiches - probably all types. I had a roast beef and horseradish one at Brown Bag Deli today for lunch. It was delicious.
4. The prospect of getting a new car. It might be happening. Soon.
5. St. Patty's Day. Yes, it was yesterday but for me St. Patty's Day lasts an entire week. I still have green on today. And I will tomorrow.
6. My new puppy. I think he was birthed by the Devil, but I still love him. He's really cute.
7. Radar Detector Deterrent Detector Deterrent Detector Detector Deterrent...Detector............Deterrents. So much technology.
8. Television. In general - because to name off my shows this season would take a while. Here's a few. LOST. The Riches. John Adams. The Soup. Well, actually maybe that's it.
9. The Fam. Cause they're always there for me and don't ask questions.
10. Obama. An embodiment of the direction I want for our country.
In closing, I submit to you some of my favorite mc, Slug
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Get ready, Texas
Throughout the past six months or so I have been feeling a deep passion towards politics, as I'm sure much of the country has as well. Living in Texas we don't usually hear the words "swing state" or "important" in reference to our nationwide political sway. We are a red state. We've always been a red state, and for the most part will always be a red state -- but I see a little purple creeping in.
The primaries -- an oft-forgotten and overlooked pre-election election that only those truly committed politicos actually exercise their voting rights for. I personally had never voted in a primary until this year, and I imagine that 80-90% of Texans are in my same position. And on top of that I don't think I had even heard the word caucus since my U.S. Government class my senior year in high school - and even then it meant nothing to me.
As Texans we do most things differently and I would propose BETTER. Now don't start blaming all Texans for George W. or big oil or mexicans - there are too many of us to make a generalization. We're an incredibly diverse populous - but we all have one thing in common - WE LOVE TEXAS.
However, one thing we do NOT do a good job of is the primary. I'm pretty positive that we haven't changed our rules and guidelines on voting since the Alamo. It's an incredible confusing and intricate process that basically takes someone of great patience and intelligence to explain, let along understand.
Let's break it down real quick.... and by quick i mean welcome to confusion....
The Texas Democratic Party sends 228 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Of those delegates, 193 are pledged and 35 are unpledged (superdelegates). The Party uses a combination of two processes to select delegates and determine how they will be allocated to each presidential candidate. The Party uses the results of the primary process to determine how 126 of its 193 pledged delegates will be allocated to each candidate. The Party uses the caucus process to select its delegates and also to determine how many of the remaining 67 pledged delegates will be allocated to each candidate. Many states require that candidates receive at least 15% of the total votes to receive delegates. The Texas Democratic Party only applies this requirement to the primary process and the final step of the caucus process since those are the only two occasions in which the Party allocates delegates to candidates.
Recap: Welcome to the "Texas 2-Step" - First you vote in the primary and then you caucus. However, no one has any idea what a caucus means let alone why you would need to do it. Let's continue...
The Texas Presidential Primary is an open primary - which permits participants to vote for candidates in any one party, regardless of voters' party affiliations.
Recap: A common misconception is that in Texas you affiliate yourself with a specific party when you register to vote. False. You become affiliated with a party when you vote in a primary. You are then affiliated with this party for 2 years - meaning that you must vote within that party during subsequent primaries in that 2 year period. However, you can still vote outside your party during a general election - such as the election in November.
The Primary (for 2008) takes place on March 4th. Polling places are open from 7am - 7pm. Once the last person in line at 7pm has voted in the primary, the caucus (or precinct convention) begins - normally around 7:15pm. Participation is open to anyone who voted in the primary. You sign in and provide proof that you in fact voted in the primary by signing an affidavit. Then you vote for the candidate of your choice.
Recap: You're basically voting twice. This may seem like a huge inconvenience and you may miss the beginning of American Idol, but this is the way our system works. Now if that's not strange enough, get ready for the confusion!!
At each caucus (there are 8,247 total in Texas), participants choose precinct delegates that will go to the county and state district conventions. The Party allocates one precinct delegate to each precinct for every 15 votes that were case in the previous election - in this case it's the 2006 gubernatorial election starring Chris Bell (he didn't win).
Recap: During the caucus you are picking some people to attend another election-type thing at the end of the month. However, you're not picking people based on this year's election - you're picking people based on an election that happened 2 YEARS AGO - where there probably wasn't a very high voter turnout. So, if you're living in a small town in Texas and you've gotten every single person to come out and vote because you feel so passionate about it - you're only going to be able to have as much say in the county and state conventions as your peers had initiative to come out and vote in the last election - which probably wasn't very much.
OK - well that was my attempt at making our crazy election process a little easier to understand. I'm looking forward to tonights results after I caucus! Go Obama!
The primaries -- an oft-forgotten and overlooked pre-election election that only those truly committed politicos actually exercise their voting rights for. I personally had never voted in a primary until this year, and I imagine that 80-90% of Texans are in my same position. And on top of that I don't think I had even heard the word caucus since my U.S. Government class my senior year in high school - and even then it meant nothing to me.
As Texans we do most things differently and I would propose BETTER. Now don't start blaming all Texans for George W. or big oil or mexicans - there are too many of us to make a generalization. We're an incredibly diverse populous - but we all have one thing in common - WE LOVE TEXAS.
However, one thing we do NOT do a good job of is the primary. I'm pretty positive that we haven't changed our rules and guidelines on voting since the Alamo. It's an incredible confusing and intricate process that basically takes someone of great patience and intelligence to explain, let along understand.
Let's break it down real quick.... and by quick i mean welcome to confusion....
The Texas Democratic Party sends 228 total delegates to the Democratic National Convention. Of those delegates, 193 are pledged and 35 are unpledged (superdelegates). The Party uses a combination of two processes to select delegates and determine how they will be allocated to each presidential candidate. The Party uses the results of the primary process to determine how 126 of its 193 pledged delegates will be allocated to each candidate. The Party uses the caucus process to select its delegates and also to determine how many of the remaining 67 pledged delegates will be allocated to each candidate. Many states require that candidates receive at least 15% of the total votes to receive delegates. The Texas Democratic Party only applies this requirement to the primary process and the final step of the caucus process since those are the only two occasions in which the Party allocates delegates to candidates.
Recap: Welcome to the "Texas 2-Step" - First you vote in the primary and then you caucus. However, no one has any idea what a caucus means let alone why you would need to do it. Let's continue...
The Texas Presidential Primary is an open primary - which permits participants to vote for candidates in any one party, regardless of voters' party affiliations.
Recap: A common misconception is that in Texas you affiliate yourself with a specific party when you register to vote. False. You become affiliated with a party when you vote in a primary. You are then affiliated with this party for 2 years - meaning that you must vote within that party during subsequent primaries in that 2 year period. However, you can still vote outside your party during a general election - such as the election in November.
The Primary (for 2008) takes place on March 4th. Polling places are open from 7am - 7pm. Once the last person in line at 7pm has voted in the primary, the caucus (or precinct convention) begins - normally around 7:15pm. Participation is open to anyone who voted in the primary. You sign in and provide proof that you in fact voted in the primary by signing an affidavit. Then you vote for the candidate of your choice.
Recap: You're basically voting twice. This may seem like a huge inconvenience and you may miss the beginning of American Idol, but this is the way our system works. Now if that's not strange enough, get ready for the confusion!!
At each caucus (there are 8,247 total in Texas), participants choose precinct delegates that will go to the county and state district conventions. The Party allocates one precinct delegate to each precinct for every 15 votes that were case in the previous election - in this case it's the 2006 gubernatorial election starring Chris Bell (he didn't win).
Recap: During the caucus you are picking some people to attend another election-type thing at the end of the month. However, you're not picking people based on this year's election - you're picking people based on an election that happened 2 YEARS AGO - where there probably wasn't a very high voter turnout. So, if you're living in a small town in Texas and you've gotten every single person to come out and vote because you feel so passionate about it - you're only going to be able to have as much say in the county and state conventions as your peers had initiative to come out and vote in the last election - which probably wasn't very much.
OK - well that was my attempt at making our crazy election process a little easier to understand. I'm looking forward to tonights results after I caucus! Go Obama!
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