Could John McCain win this election?

According to this article because of the weirdness of the 12th Amendement he very well could!

Screw You WaMu!

I have never been happier to be a Bank of America customer. I always thought Washington Mutual was a nicer more friendly local bank and that I ought bank with them instead. Today I read a report that Washington Mutual has donated $80,000 to the Monorail Recall campaign and is even encouraging it's employees to vote Yes on the Monorail Recall. I encourage any and all WaMu customers to close their accounts in protest like these people. I'm so pissed about this I wish I could do it myself.

On a happier note I feel very confident John Kerry will win next Tuesday ending our long national nightmare.

Permanent Absentee

That phrase sounds mildly oxymoronic. Anyway here's how I voted:

Ballot Measures:
I-872 Top Two Primary: NO
I-884 1% Sales Tax Increase for Education: NO
I-892 Slot Machines: YES
R-55 Charter Schools: YES
I-297 Hazardous Waste Restrictions: NO
County Amendment Reduce Council Seats from 13 to 9: YES 1A
County Transportion Advisory Measure 1: YES
County Transportion Funding Advisory Measure 2: Gas Tax
Seattle Monorail Recall: NO GOD NO!

Federal:
President: Kerry/Edwards (D)
Senator: Patty Murray (D)
House Dist 7: Jim McDermott (D)

State:
Governor: Christine Gregoire (D)
Lt. Gov: Jocelyn Langlois (L)
Sec of State: Laura Ruderman (D)
Treasurer: Mike Murphy (D)
Auditor: Brian Sonntag (D)
Attorney General: Deborah Senn (D)
Lands Commisioner: Mike Cooper (D)
Superindendent: Judith Billings
Insurance Commisioner: Mike Kreidler (D)
Supreme Court 1: Mary Kay Becker
Supreme Court 5: Barbara Madsen
Supreme Court 6: Terry Sebring
House Dist 36 1: Helen Sommers (D)
House Dist 36 2: Mary Lou Dickerson (D)

Most of the races were a clear cut but a few were tough calls. I had a hard time voting for Deborah Senn but I like Rob McKenna better on the King County council. I voted Libertarian for Lt. Governor because Brad Owen is a dick and Langlois plan to eliminate the office sounds good to me. I almost voted For Richard Sanders for Supreme court but I'm worried he'll come down on the wrong side of the forthcoming monorail and gay marriage cases.

The ballot measures did require more thought. I-872 is completely asinine and will result in fewer choices for voters. Education needs to be better funded in this state but raising the sales tax by another penny on the dollar does no one any favors and the the Education Trust Fund board it would create is anti-democratic. Regarding I-892 I don't like slot machines but I think all gambling should be legalized and I hate hate hate hate hate the preachy ads against it. The initiative may hurt Tribal casinos almost caused me to vote no. I voted for Charter Schools (R-55) because I don't think just because a parent cares about their kids education they should be forced to have bad schools.

If you are a Seattle voter please, please, please vote No on I-83. We need to build this system or we will never have a real transit system. Don't be the tool of selfish rich property owners.

My Top 10 Movies

1. Jackie Brown
2. The Godfather Pt. II
3. Chinatown
4. The Limey
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. Crimes and Misdemeanors
7. Stranger Than Paradise
8. Limbo
9. The Big Lebowski
10. Frailty

Oddly, I only own three of these movies (Jackie Brown, Punch Drunk Love, and Frailty) on DVD! Hmmm... Things to put on my christmas list!

Grover is Good!

Wheelson asked the question so here is my answer.

It is now confirmed that Mike Hargrove will be the next Mariner manager. I think this is a great move. Its not as daring a move as I would have made (Ex-Astro's manager Larry Dierker would have been my first choice). But I like it just the same. This is certainly a better choice than many of the other names bandied about: Jimy Williams (insane), Grady Little (cursed), Larry Bowa (ill-tempered), Don Baylor (incompetent), etc. Hargrove is a proven winner from his years as manager of the Indians. And more importantly he knows how build a winner from crap. Hargrove's strengths are Bob Melvin's weaknesses: basic baseball IQ and leadership. Actually what were Bob Melvin's strengths anyway? Hargrove is not return of Lou Pinella but I'm starting to get optimistic about the M's future!

Go Red Sox!

Wow! The last three games of the ALCS have been some of the most exciting baseball ever. Coming back from a 3-0 deficit had never been done and the Red Sox did it! And what an amazing way to do it! 12 innings in game three. 14 innings in game four! And tonight's game was another classic.

I watched the end of tonight's game at the The George and Dragon, where Merychippus and I played some my old friends Grumbles and Mr. Africa and some of their friends. When we first got there they were showing some Premier League soccer match instead of the game but luckily they quickly changed over. and I have never seen a crowd so into a game in a bar. People were cheering with every pitch even as the quizmaster tried to read the questions and the pub went nuts when A-Rod illegally batted the ball away from Arroyo. Tomorrow's game should be a complete classic!

BTW our quiz team tied for first but lost the tiebreakers because we didn't know who makes the wonderbra or who that some weird thing was part of the hand. Next time we will triumph! Or not!

Oh and to my father and brother: Yankees Suck! Jeter Swallows!

The Electrifying Conclusion!

I just got my tickets to the final Guided By Voices show in Seattle. I am really excited about this show. It should be epic! I have mixed feelings about the end of GBV. It sad to see these paragons of rock go a away. But it's not like Robert Pollard is retiring. You he'll still keep putting out 4 or 5 albums a year!

The Triumph of the Twilight Campfighters

Tonight after watching the final debate. Headstart and I went across the street from her place to the Ravenna Ale House for pub trivia. It was one of the best nights of pub trivia that I have experienced. The questions were a good mix of academia and pop culture. The photo rounds were especially fun. The questions were all knowable nothing to obscure or too easy. At the end of 8 rounds, Headstart and I, playing under the name The Twilight Campfighters, found ourselves tied for first place with the team next to us, Oops I Ate a Bug. This deadlock required a tie breaker question. The question ended up being about what speech impediment some character in Stephen King's It had. Both Headstart and I knew the answer was stuttering but figured the other team would get it as well. But they didn't know it! And we won first place! And our prize $120!!! The Twilight Campfighters will return to next Wednesday to hopefully win more cash!

You Forgot Poland

I Love this site. Thus far each of the debates have provided an all-time Bush gem. First "You Forgot Poland", and then "Need Some Wood?" What will tonight provide? I can't wait to see!

It'll also be fun to see Kerry kick his ass again. Its no fun debating when you have a presidential record to defend, eh George?

Sorry It Doesn't Count

The Seattle Storm became WNBA champions last night and congratulations are due to the team. I caught the post-game celebration on ESPN2 and they kept talking about how this was Seattle's first professional championship in 25 years. What? Nope sorry! Winning the WNBA championship does not count! The MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL are the only professional leagues that matter. The WNBA is in that who cares tier with the MLS. I mean the Storm beat a team that plays its games at a casino. Hell, the Seattle Thunderbirds winning the Memorial Cup would be closer to counting for me than this. Ichiro's hits record this year is a bigger deal. The Seahawks making the playoffs last year was a bigger deal. Sorry the WNBA just doesn't count. Maybe that's because I really do think a top notch high school boy's basketball team could probably beat the Storm. Or I just don't enjoy women's sports. But I suspect that the only people that think it does count were at Key Arena last night. And how sad is it that this years WNBA finals were the first ever to sell out every game? If selling out the finals is a big deal then you haven't moved up to the major leagues.

I'm Giving Up!...on The Family Guy

When The Family Guy was on Fox, I didn't think it was funny. When The Family Guy was on the Cartoon Network, I didn't think it was funny. When my brother bought the first two seasons of the The Family Guy on DVD, I shrugged and wonder why was he wasting money on a series that had only made me chuckle once but at least the discs make good coasters!

Humor is subjective of course but usually my sense of humor lines up with that of my brother. When more people that I respect like Just A Dude and FCW started praising it I began to wonder what was wrong with me? Am I some sort of humorless sad sack? So to try to figure out what I'm missing I borrowed the first two seasons from my brother.

It took me over a month to watch the first disc of seven 22 minute episodes and it was torture. I had to stop. The Critic is funnier than this show, and that show could be down right awful. A holocaust documentary has more laughs in it than this show. I think I need someone to root for in comedy. On some level I think you have to want to see the characters succeed and when they fail it is both funny and heartbreaking. I found myself either disliking or loathing every character on the show. Heartless, mean, ironic humor is apparently not for me. Stewy the evil genius baby is apparently a high point for many people but the joke got old for me really quickly. I gave it a good shot but this show is just not for me. I'll take The Office, Get a Life, South Park ,and Curb Your Enthusiasm instead.

One positive is that at least I now understand why people like this show. I will no longer wonder if there is something wrong with people that love this show. A lot of the plots and gags in the show are clever and funny in theory but the execution completely leaves me flat. The idea of Stewy being afraid that "the man in white" will return him to the womb on his first birthday is funny, but the execution of that idea is decidedly unfunny, at least for me.

If there is some ridiculously funny episode that might change my mind on the other 3 discs of the set let me know and I might check it out. Otherwise I'm giving these glorified coaster back to my brother!

Pointlessness

Why do I waste so much of my free time playing video games? It baffles me.

For instance, yesterday I had to leave work early for a dental appointment. After my appointment I was home two hours earlier than I usually am. There were a lot of productive things I could have done with this time. Vacuum, fold laundry, clean the bathroom, make some CD compilations, or even blog. But no I decided to play some football on the XBox. And from 4:30PM to 10PM that's pretty much all I did. If I was playing against another person it would have been a fun communal experience not a sad geek exercise. If I had played a non-sports game, like Mario or Zelda, there would at least have been a sense of accomplishment of getting further along in the quest. But with sports games its just the same thing over and over. If it had been a weekend after noon I would care as much but this was really lame way to spend an evening.

Next time I get the urge to play video games by myself on a week night I going for a fucking walk, even if I already went on one!

Some Weeks Are Bigger Than Others

This has been a most excellent week.

I finally got over the obnoxious bitchy funk that had been plaguing me for the last couple weeks and was annoying to everyone I encountered.

I had my annual review at work, in which I was told how awesome I am and got a raise. I also learned of a forthcoming overtime project just in time of the holiday season.

I won an arguement at work and our team is being allowed to do something the right way instead of the lame way.

I enjoyed the vice Presidental debate a lot. On debate points it was a draw but Edwards was the only one to make an appeal to undecideds. So Edwards won where it counts. The best moment when Edwards brought up Cheney's congressional record.

I lost my bus pass but my boss replaced it.

I watched lots of Homicide Season 5. Bliss!

I bought America (The Book). Looks really funny.

I read the first half of Catch 22, which is awesome. I need to finish it for my book club meeting on Sunday afternoon.

I picked up the new Tom Waits and Robyn Hitchcock albums and both are brilliant.

I saw the movie Incident at Loch Ness. Which was the most strangely funny films I've seen in a long while. Werner Herzog is, was , and will always be awesome.

And most importanly I slept well every night. A good night's sleep is a wonderful thing.

The Beauty of Random

Hot Damn! Random play on my media player is wonderful. Having 580 hours of music on your heard drive can result it some great musical contrasts. For example the following run of tracks just played:

Andy Partridge - "Blue Beret"
Guided By Voices - "Request Pharmaceuticals"
Black Box Recorder - "G.S.O.H Q.E.D."
Kanye West - "Get Em High"
The Beach Boys - "In the Still of the Night"
The Streets - "Who Got The Funk?"
Joy Division - "The Only Mistake"
Outkast - "Prototype"
Dan Bern - "Freight Train Blues"
The Decemberist - "Apology Song (Live)"
John Cale - "Leaving It Up To You"
The Beatles - "Dear Prudence"
Johnny Cash - "I See A Darkness"
10cc - "The Wall Street Shuffle"
Robyn Hitchcock - "Young People Scream"
The Spinners - "It's a Shame"
The Shins - "Know Your Onion"
The Mountain Goats - "Onions"

And that's just a sample, I've been listing to random all day. The transition between the Kanye and Beach Boys tracks was wonderfully weird. Kanye and Talib rapping about joys of dropping out of college followed by a creaky voice Dennis Wilson covering a 50s hit. I also think it's awesome that "Onions" followed "Know Your Onion". I mean what are the odds! Joy Division followed by Andre 3000 crooning was another great contrast.

I wish I could do this at home! Hmmm maybe its time to invest in a new...

The BoMel Era is over!!!

The Mariners fired manager Bob Melvin today along with the rest of the coaching staff with the exception of pitching coach Bryan Price. Hallelujah!!! I would love to see the M's sign former A's and Mets manager Art Howe. Any one below his calibur will be a disappointment.

Nerd Confessions

Over the past two years I have been watching/re-watching all of the Star Trek series through the magic of Netflix. Previously, I was only a casual fan of the shows and hadn’t really had any serious interest in the franchise since Deep Space Nine went off the air in 1999. Now I am a sad geek with trek action figures in my living room window sill. I started with The Next Generation, which in my mind is still the best series. But I was really surprised at how truly bad the first 2 seasons were. But with the full introduction of the Borg in Season 3, Next Generation really got rolling. And by the end of Season 7 it is one of the best shows ever on television. Next, I started watching Deep Space Nine. This show is really fun. The static space station setting really allowed for some big season-long and series-long story arcs. Gul Dukat was a great complex villain, both likable and hate-able at the same time. DS9 while not as great as TNG is my personal favorite Trek series. I started watching the original Star Trek series via Netflix on these old two-episodes-on-one-disc-DVDs but stopped when I heard the series was coming out in proper DVD sets this fall but Netflix hasn't carried those yet and may never, in which case I’ll have to buy them for myself. Or ask for them as gifts! I look forward to re-watching the whole series. It's very different in tone and style and Kirk and Spock are serious bad ass dudes. Currently, I’m in the midst of watching Voyager, a show that I hardly ever watched when it was originally on. The first two seasons were pretty dire. Season three starts to show some promise. I'm currently wrapping up season 4 which has had some great episodes like "Living Witness" but also god awful episodes like "Demon", in which they encounter a Demon planet. Last year I started watching Enterprise which turned out to be a great decision. Supposedly the first two seasons were horrid and I picked a good season to start watching. I am looking forward to the Season Premiere on Fraday and the resolution of the Nazi Alien cliffhanger.

The Debate Debate

Kerry definitely won the debate in my biased eyes. Kerry didn't have a home run moment and I think he should have been harder on bush for how the war in Iraq has been fought not just about the decision to go to war. Bush didn't make a fool of himself but strangely Kerry came off as more presidential while bush came off as harried and annoyed. If Kerry continues to perform like this I think there is a good chance he can win. That said this site is awesome.

I Heart David O. Russell

Last night thanks to Headstart For Happiness’s industry connections, I saw a sneak preview of David O. Russell’s new film I Heart Huckabees. Wow wow wee wah!!! What an awesome film. I have never seen a film that was so unrelenting and crazy brilliant. The ideas in this comedy border on insanity yet they are present in the most entertaining way possible. To say more about the content of the film would be to ruin it. But Mark Wahlberg owns this movie. I want a sequel just about his character. I want the TV series. Or even better I want his character to appear on ever show on TV. The performances by Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Naomi Watts, Lilly Tomlin, and Dustin Hoffman were excellent as well. One of the best films of the year if not the best. The Director David O. Russell was present to answer questions after th film and he was a very cool guy both funny and smart. Totally loved his story about tuna fish sandwiches.

CD Revue: Brian Wilson - SMiLE

For the past two days I have been listening to this album non-stop. It’s the best album of the year and an album I never though could exist. A masterpiece that had lost its chance to exist when Brian hand a nervous breakdown in 1967 and the Beach boys scrapped SMiLE and recorded Smiley Smile in its place. I’d long been a fan of the SMiLE after hearing bootlegs of the remaining tapes but it was an incomplete piece. The fact that Brian was able to put it back together with help from Darian Sahanaja and Van Dyke Parks after 37 years is astonishing. The rest of the Beach Boys are missed, especially Carl, but it was the right decision to make it a totally new recording. Both Brian and his band are in top form. This new SMiLE is a much happier work than I could have imagined. It’s hard to describe how special this album it is. It’s not just a collection of songs. It’s like a symphony with different themes and pieces of music returning. The most striking sections are the ones that have been released for the first time like “Child is Father of the Man” and “Roll Plymouth Rock”. My favorite piece is “Mrs. O’Leary’s Cow” which recreates the Great Chicago Fire with just music no lyrics and has to be one of the scariest pieces of music ever. I still can’t believe this thing exists.

BTW last Friday NPR ran an excellent story on SMiLE. Listen to it here.