August 29, 2008
NOTE ON DAVID BROOKS' POST CONVENTION OP-ED:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/29/opinion/29brooks.html?em
Hmmm David Brooks' op-ed today feels a little harshly cynical and comedically tone deaf. I understand the impulse to bring Obama back down to earth: to mock the messianic overtures and to expose what is purely partisan in the lofty post-partisan rhetoric--but this effort seems a bit mean-spirited and simply not that funny. I'm frankly surprised. I have a lot of respect for David Brooks as a smart and fair-minded non-believer and have found myself largely--if reluctantly--in agreement with him on a fairly regular basis. But i really think he missed the boat on this one. I'm not convinced that it's impossible to write jokes about Obama, but David Brooks certainly hasn't cracked the code.
MILE HIGH MOMENT: DNC CLOSING NOTES
Obama did an excellent job showing his mettle and concretizing his proposals. He eschewed the soaring rhetoric and did what he needed to do--sort of like a boxer winning a clear and convincing if not spectacularly crowd-pleasing decision. All in all: a very solid, workmanlike once-in-a-lifetime historic performance.
The introductory film did a great job of humanizing him and placing him in the context of his humble beginnings. Put a little flesh on the bony enigma. Hung a little narrative on the ethereal abstraction.
Loved the pre-emptive strike against McCain's fear-mongering tactics. Loved him directly challenging McCain on the topic of who would make the better Commander-in-Chief. Loved the reminder that no political party has a monopoly on patriotism. And loved the compelling refutation of the absurd charges that he is just another big celebrity. Also really liked the claim "America we're beter than these last 8 years."
That said: Some minor cavils: While it was understandable that he sacrificed poetry for policy and inspiration for information, I sort of wished that I'd felt as moved by this speech as I had felt listening to some of his previous speeches and had felt watching the little intro film last night. (And yes, in this nitpicking I do feel a bit like one of those annoying gymnastics color commentators who, after a thoroughly impressive routine, can't stop talking about the tiny technical errors that separated the performance from perfection.)
I still get really uncomfortable about Obama's protectionism. It feels like intellectually dishonest pandering-- a small betrayal of the themes of truthfulness and respect that have been essential to his campaign. But I understand that it's probably necessary to get him elected.
And I wasn't a big fan of the classical Greek setting and the huge open air arena. Not so much for the grandiosity as for the fact that it seemed to remove him from rather than connect him with his live audience.
Love the PBS crew--and will miss them. Jim Lehrer, Mike Shields (a delightful cross between John Kerry and a basset hound.) David Brooks and the sundry political historians. With all due respect to the tirelessly self-promoting blowhards from CNN, THIS is the best political team on television.
All of this said: My honest feeling is that Obama should simply put his little girls in every single ad and have them say "Vote for my daddy. He'll be a great president." If he were willing to shamelessly exploit those little angels for political ends, i can guarantee he would win the election by a landslide. They are a force that is simply irresistible and unopposable. Karl Rove would be powerless against their charms. Even white southern bigots would find themselves riding the O train.
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August 28, 2008
SUGGESTED LOGO/T-SHIRT DESIGN
Are we liking this as a logo for Obama-Biden 08? I got inspired to try my hand at some graphic design. Let me know what you think.
REDISCOVERED MOJO
I missed the Mets and the Democratic Convention (had to catch up on both via TiVo later), so i could attend the night session at the U.S. Open where I saw Andy Roddick finally find his mojo. He served 147 miles per hour and notice that he's back. I later discovered that both Bill Clinton and the Mets rediscovered their mojo too.
Other highlights from the Open: I saw a woman who looked just like Jimmy Connors, watched a doubles team on a side court who had an uncanny resemblance to Simon and Garfunkel and enjoyed playing "Which of these things is not like the other?" with the corporate sponsors' logos along the side of Arthur Ashe stadium. (Lexus, Chase, George Foreman, American Express.)
As for Clinton Mari (a lame riff on Bush Pere):
The wounded Leo rose to the occasion, buried the hatchet and really helped unify the party. He showed far more graciousness and magnanimity than one might have expected and it was great to be reminded how compelling and charismatic he can be when he's not being petulant. It was also nice to see how directly and emphatically Obama acknowledged both of the Clintons in his brief "surprise" appearance at the end. (Based of recent evidence, it appears the Democrats do Surprise about as well as the Republicans do Honesty--or, to be less controversial, Competence.)
Kerry was strong and impassioned. Nothing like someone working with conviction to redeem past failings. Reminds me of how great Gore was endorsing Kerry in 2004--exhibiting more righteous conviction in one brief speech than he had cumulatively summoned in all his campaign appearances and debates in 2000.
Love watching the big, cheesy, guileless smiles that Hillary and Bill give each other when the other one delivers a good applause line on stage. It's a touching glimpse into the genuine love and deep mutual regard that transcend their specular narcissism and spectacular ambition.
Beau Biden's speech was, for me, the highlight of the night. A speech from the heart of tragedy and truth delivered without a trace of vanity or rhetorical artifice. It was wonderful in the context of recent Party pride and pettiness to have such gravitas conferred upon the proceedings. It was a truly moving and powerful tribute and I had goose bumps on my arms and tears in my eyes.
After that, Biden was perfectly solid. But the truest thing he said was that he knows he's done all right because he sees that his son has turned out to be a better man than he.
In any event: It seems like the Democrats finally have their house in order. The necessary words have been said, the unifying gestures have been made, the generational torch has been passed and it seems like, as long as they don't do something pretentious and grandiose on the last night of the Convention to play right into the Republicans' Celebrity-slamming hands, they should they should be in good shape.
Oh, wait...
Yeah.
Hmm.
PROPS OF THE DAY:
To Carlos Freaking Delgado
Beau Biden
Bill Clinton
And Anyone who can talk Obama out of doing his planned Demonsthenes (or is it Delphic Oracle?) Impression tonight.
OBSERVATION OF THE DAY:
Tennis is boxing for people who don't like to get hit and chess is tennis for people who don't like to get up.
PROPOSED BAND NAME OF THE DAY:
Andy Roddick's Girlfriend
RANDOM SINGLE SENTENCE PORTRAIT OF THE DAY: (And, no: this does not relate to anyone I know.)
While he was a hell of a competitor, he seldom brought his hygienic A-game.
POLITICS:
Hillary did her part. She felt more real and vibrant and authentic than ever before. All the cheeesiness and sing-songiness was gone from her voice--replaced by a credible sense of gravity and conviction. That said, she really had no real alternative as it was essential to her self-interest to appear to be giving her wholehearted support to the ticket. To the extent that she still harbors hopes of a future presidential run (and she most certainly does), she knows it's political suicide to have her fingerprints on any possible Obama loss. Bill Clinton, too, will no doubt rise to the performative occasion tonight (even if he is unahppy with the speech topic he's been given: hey, NOBODY tells the smartest kid in the class what to write or talk about. Nobody.) as he has a profound investment in his legacy. But in his heart of hearts, you know that what he hopes for most is an Obama loss that can't be blamed on him and the sweet redemption of a Hillary victory in 2012. He's the biggest, babiest, boomerist ego of them all and he is simply not ready to be eclipsed by this undeferential Illinois upstart.
But Bill and Hillary's conflicts of interest aside: the onus is really on Obama now to graciously embrace the Hillary supporters and to truly acknowledge the indispensible contribitions of the Clintons. Bill needs his ego stroked. And Hillary's passionate supporters need her historic run to be properly acknowledged. Obama simply can't give this short shrift. At the same time, he has to really start getting less abstract and make a direct, gut-level appeal to the average American. Give them a sense of who he is and what he would do to improve their lot. To concretize his promise of positive change. His complex and nuanced policy ideas have to be distilled down to something clear and readily intelligible. "Smarter ideas for a better working America." or "Smarter policies for a healthier America" or "Smarter Policies for a Safer, Stronger America." Or some such thing. Those three just sprang to mind...but frankly, while none is very good, they are all much better than any formulation he has yet to offer.
Aside from the instant communicability of a "Tax cuts, Small government" platform, McCain has another truly insisidious asymmetry working in his favor. Namely this: Fear and doubt are a much easier sell than trust and hope. As the Middle East has shown us again and again, years of careful, painstaking peace negotiations can be undone by a single act of hate.
If all else fails, Obama could embrace this slogan: "He's never called his wife a C*nt."
PROBABLY UNNECESSARY P.S. OF THE DAY:
In case that last sentence elicited a "Whaa??" reaction: McCain evidently called his wife the C word in front of a lot of people a couple of years ago. And by C word, I don't mean Christian, conservative or cougar.
BEST NEW OBAMA-BIDEN ANALOGY TANDEM SUGGESTION OF THE DAY (Courtesy of friend of blog, R.C.)
Luke Skywalker and Han Solo
Damn. That might give Ashton and Demi a run for their money.
VEGASISM OF THE DAY:
Not to date myself, but, hey., everyone needs a social life...
STATE OF THE VEGAS OF THE DAY:
The U.S. Open has started, the Democratic Convention is underway, the Mets are in a pennant race, the back-to-school feeling is creeping back into the air and Theodore Vegas is simply overwhelmed by the bounty, the plenitude and the abundance.
QUICKLY SCRIBBLED CONVENTION NOTES:
I thought Michelle Obama was excellent. Articulate. Lovely. Warm. And fist-bumpalicious. Struck me how this really was a different vision of America. An America in which things really are possible. In which the American Dream is more than a lovely piece of rhetoric to be cynically trotted out around election time. It struck me that Michelle and Barack and, I believe, Biden were all the first people in their respective families to attend college. What a breath of fresh air from the usual patrician sense of waspy white entitlement. The scions of privilege, groomed for greatness since just before their births. This is as true of recent Democratic candidates (Kerry comes from wealth, Gore's father was a famous senator, Clinton is, of course, the glaring exception...) as it's been true of the Republicans. Anyhow, a nice thing to see and a true slap in the face of one's habitual cynicism.
My only nit pick: I could have lived with her saying "You see" a few fewer times. But otherwise, damn. Just jealous Barack got to her first.
Obama appearing via satellite: The camera pulls back to reveal him sitting there next to this middle American white family in Kansas City. Awkward. So silly and stage-y. Like a movie comedy premise gone bad. Sort of like the Jerk in reverse. Or Me, Myself and Obama. Who is that skinny black guy at the edge of the family portrait?
Still a big rift between the Hillary delegates and the Obama delegates. And, of course, between the Obamas and the Clintons. I'm sure Hillary and Bill will say all the right things in their scheduled speeches, but their hearts will not be fully in it. And that's a real problem. With all the racial resistance Obama faces, any failure of party unification could prove fatal. Bill Clinton is a big entitled baby and Hillary's self- interest is at war with her political principles (which is to say, Obama losing is better for her chances in 2012). That said, I think she may surprise us with an unprecendented display of Clintonian self-transendence. But even if she does, the obstacles are still formidable: Millions of bitter women and one huge, bitter male ego.
Observation watching the post-Convention commentary: Not to generalize, but Republicans tend to be mean and ugly. At least the party hacks and spinmeisters. And, a propos of that: While I'm not a big fan of celebrity culture, it is striking that the only notable G.O.P. celebs are Wayne Newton and Bo "I.Q. of 10" Derek. G.O.P: The celebreality series. Next on Fox TV!
Best Convention Image of the night: A shot of a guy wandering outside the convention with a sign that said "Bring Back Crystal Pepsi."
SIGNS OF RACIAL PROGRESS OF THE DAY:
a)
Donald Young and James Blake played a 5 setter last night at the U.S. Open and no where in the article did it mention that they were both black.
b)
The Democrats are about to nominate the first black presidential candidate ever from a major party.
SIGNS OF LACK OF RACIAL PROGRESS OF THE DAY:
a)
Lots of white working class voters still think of Obama as "Other" and "Not Like us" and use all kinds of code words to signify an unwillingness to vote for a black candidate.
b)
Some white supremist creeps were arrested in Denver after being found to have automatic rifles and claiming to be in town to shoot Obama.
http://cbs4denver.com/investigates/assisination.plot.obama.2.802827.html
Terrifying. Yeah, you've got a self-made black guy who went to Harvard and built this amazing life for himself with a loving, brilliant wife and beautiful respectful children and is about to be nominated as the Democratic Party candidate for President of the United States. Then you have these freakish angry meth-mouthed losers with swastika tattoos trying to kill him because he's black. Yup. Clear proof of the superiority of white people!
The five stages of my reaction to this news:. Denial, Fear, Rage, Sadness, Laughter.
The Obamas clearly love each other more than the McCains do. They have cuter kids than the McCains do. They are better looking than the McCains. They are better educated than the McCains. But, there's just something about them. I can't quite put my finger on it. Oh, wait, that's right: They're black.
STORY OF THE DAY:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080825/sc_livescience/surveywomenleaderssmartermorehonest
In a finding that will be bittersweet for Hillary Clinton supporters, a new Pew survey finds that when it comes to honesty, intelligence and a handful of other key traits valued in leaders, the public rates women as superior to men.
Still, a mere 6 percent say that, overall, women make better political leaders than men.
My thought: Men aren't prefered as political leaders in spite of their inferior honesty and intelligence. But because of it.
STORY SUMMARY OF THE DAY:
Women are better people. But men are better at a lot of other things.
RANDOM SINGELE SENTENCE PORTRAIT OF THE DAY:
We enjoyed his occasional spasms of lucidity.
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August 23, 2008
POLITICAL COMMENT OF THE DAY:
I was glad Obama picked Biden as his running mate. Some might criticize it as politics as usual and an uninspired choice for a candidate who had been running on the platform of change. But my feeling is, this reality bound, tactically smart choice represents a welcomed change from all the talk about change. If it reflects Obama's lack of confidence in the political viability of the change message, it also represents a great step forward in maturity and self-knowledge. Obama realized that a Presidential campaign (particularly against a Republican candidate) is going to be brutal. And that is a reality that is not going to change. He had the clarity and self-candor to recognize his perceived (and hence, real) weaknesses as a candidate (a lack of international experience, little appeal for working class Democrats, a perception of meandering cerebrality and detached coolness) and had the good sense to address these weaknesses directly and intelligently in his choice of running mates. In a funny (and, perhaps sophistic) way, this choice actually delivers on his message of change more truly and deeply than anything he has done before--as it reflects a pragmatic willingness to learn from experience and change when necessary; even if what one is changing from is the platform of change.
Sure, the McCain folks will have a brief field day with Biden's previous praise of McCain and his claims that Obama is unready for the Presidency. Sure, it's a bit funny that Biden had been widely criticized for calling Obama "articulate and clean" at the start of the primary season--a claim that was widely alleged to have embedded racist assumptions. Sure, Biden talks too much and says some stupid things from time to time. But he's a smart, seasoned, likable well-credentialed fighter who will certainly be an asset to Obama in what is no doubt going to be the fight of his life.
A Democratic ticket that is willing to do whatever is necessary to actually win? That is a change I can get behind.
I am Teddy Vegas and I approve this pick.
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August 19, 2008
CURIOUS DISCOVERY/SOCIO-ECONOMIC OBSERVATION/THEORY OF THE DAY
I am in Cabo San Lucas (strictly for business reasons) and am staying in a gated community (again, strictly for business reasons). While walking to the beach from my Villa and smoking a Cuban cigar (again, strictly for business reasons), I noticed that the speed limit in this gated community is 19 MPH. Curiously, I have only seen a 19 MPH speed limit one other time in my life and that was in the only other gated community in which I ever stayed (albeit not strictly for business reasons.) It occurs to me that 19 MPH might be the official speed limit of gated communities and, as such, a powerful, stealth signifier of wealth, privilege and exclusivity. And with that I proudly announce my exciting new...
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF THE DAY:
I just bought the 19MPH.com url! It's certainly a more auspicious business idea than my No Hair Day baseball caps for bald people.
PLEASANT SURPRISE OF THE DAY:
http://news.aol.com/elections/article/clinton-nixed-values-advice-on-obama/128678?icid=100214839x1207594259x1200397334
According to the article above, HIllary's chief campaign strategist had strongly recommended her attacking Obama's American-ness during the primaries and--again, according to the article above--she refused to embrace this negative tactic. Of course, it is possible that she declined to go that route for reasons of efficacy rather than ethics (and of course it is possible that she is floating this story in an attempt to rehabilitate her image as a highly principled rather than ruthlessly pragmatic public servant after the bitterly fought campaign), but I am in a non cycnical mode these days and am inclined to accord her the benefit of the doubt(s).
LFAQ OF THE DAY:
What percentage of the medalists sing along to their national anthems? What percentage of them actually know all the words?
BRIEF LUXURY REVIEW EXCERPT OF THE DAY:
The bathrooms here are so artfully appointed, exquisitely spacious and delightfully aromatic that it is conceivable that the experience of (heaven forbid!) dysentery in one of them would be more dignified than the experience of perfect regularity in your average hotel bathroom.
SIGN OFF OF THE DAY:
OK, that's really all I have for you guys at the moment. Gotta get back to the patio beside our private pool (for strictly business purposes.)
AN END OF WEEK POST CABOS POST
OLYMPIC TERMS OF THE DAY:
Start Value and Balance Check. Start value is the initial level of difficulty of a gymnastic routine. Balance check is a little stumble on the balance beam and the subsequent inelegant effort required to maintain equilibrium.
MODIFIED OLYMPIC TERMS OF THE DAY:
Genetic Start Value.
Cognitive Balance Check.
Be part of the great linguistic dissemination! Get these terms into circulation! Take part in a movement greater than yourself!
OLYMPIC COMMENTARY/OBSERVATIONS OF THE DAY:
Best performance of the night: Watching Bela Karosi watch the American gymnasts perform. Amazed the old nut job didn't pop a gasket or otherwise injure himself.
Other riveting spectacles:
Phelps' miraculous come from behind 1/100th of a second victory for his 7th Gold Medal. I think I could hear Mark Spitz screaming "Nooooooooooo!" from somewhere in the Mid-West. (Not to take anything away from Phelps' mind-blowing achievement in the games, but it is worth remembering that he has now been the beneficiary of two miraculous last fraction of a second out-touching victories and that less that 1/10th of a second separates him from having 7 gold medals instead of 5.)
The footage of Michael Phelps' daily food intake.
Usain (Not Qusay!) Bolt lollygagging his way to a 9.92 first place finish in his 100 meter heat. In the second half of the race, he sort of jogged and kept looking left to right as if to say, with genuine dismay rather than arrogance "Why are you making me run with the 4th graders?? I'm in high school now!" The guy is a super freakazoid. And great as Tyson Gay and Astafa Powell are, I can't see anyone beating this guy in the finals.
Pedophilia alert: Nastia Liukin is insanely gorgeous (not to mention incredibly graceful, preternaturally poised, ridiculously limber and spectacularly talented.) Nasty-ah. She sure as hell stuck the genetic landing!
Aaron Piersol and Ryan Lochte in the 100 Butterfly Suggests a new sport: Comparative laid backness. These crazy calm Californians look like they might just fall asleep at top speed.
Rowdy Gaines is so jazzed he makes Dick Vitale seem like Aaron Piersol. He is almost incoherent with enthusiasm.
Call me crazy, but I'm not convinced those Spanish hoopsters were being racist when they slanted their eyes in that Olympic photo. It wasn't a cultural stereotype. It was an inarguable physical reality. And they were merely gesturing towards it as a tribute to the Beijing games. OK, maybe it wasn't the most enlightened gesture in the world, but do we really need to get our knickers in a knot over it? Do we really need to make it more than it was? What's next: Are retarded people gonna start complaining about the way they're represented in movies? Oh, wait...
All the hullabaloo about how Tropical Thunder is insensitive to people with Down's syndrome: I mean, c'mon: Can't those retards take a joke! On a more serious note, it is striking how no black people are protesting the movie despite the Black Face theme--and it is probably an eloquent tribute to how far racial relations have come and how fully black Americans have been culturally assimilated. Let's hope that in 20 years, the mentally challenged will feel sufficiently well integrated into this silly society not to go goofy over a little joke!
Mark Spitz not being invited to the Olympics to pass the torch on to Michael Phelps. I know he has taken a lot of criticism for complaining about the snub, but I have to tell you it does strike me as a glaring omission. Aren't the reigning record holders usually embraced by the relevant sporting establishment to witness (and give their blessing to), the individual by whom they are to be eclipsed? I'm thinking of the family of Roger Maris being there to see Mark McGuire break his record. And Henry Aaron being enlisted to officially congratulate Barry Bonds. Seven Gold Medals is an august, time-honored mark and you'd have to think the International Olympic Committee or even the American Olympic team would want to have Spitz on hand officially or unofficially for the festivities. Spitz got a lot of heat for what was perceived as egotistical whining, but it strikes me as a reasonable complaint. Is it because Spitz is a Jew? Did someone say anti-semitism? (Or am I just a similarly whiny Jew?). I mean, the Chinese complaining about the Spanish hoops team and the mentally challenged organization boycotting "Tropical Thunder" are both pretty silly. But, I don't know: This anti-semitism thing is different. It just feels more legitimate somehow! :)
REASON TO HATE SPORTS OF THE DAY:
The fact that sports team owners (unsurprisingly) overwhelmingly support McCain.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/politico/20080815/pl_politico/12548
UNNATURAL SHOCKS OF THE DAY::
I was actually surprised to discover that Gertrude Stein was Jewish. Hello, Stein? The Unnatural shock is not the fact that she is Jewish but the fact that I was somehow--inexplicably--surprised.
SIGN OF THE DAY:
"No Standing on Sink" message in Bryant Park bathroom. That, in conjunction with the Vivaldi they were piping in, really suggests that they're classing up the joint.
LFAQ:
Which is less insulting: calling someone a dumbass or calling them by the proper name Dumbass?
OBSERVATION OF THE DAY:
The double power of flight at the transitional hour.
BAND NAME IN SEARCH OF A BAND OF THE DAY:
The Usual.
MEDITATION OF THE DAY: (Poolside in Cabo)
Sucking on the breast of this cigar in the late afternoon of my life, i miss everyone i ever loved and everyone who ever loved me. It is overwhelming. I have nothing to give back to those who are no longer here but my gratitude. For the abundance of their presence. For the unnegotiable reality of their absence. For the truths that make sacred and define. Their absence is the final lesson they were here to teach me. My tears are gratitude for that most difficult gift.
RANDOM SINGLE SENTENCE PORTRAIT OF THE DAY:
He was a closet admirer of Kim Jung Il.
OLYMPIC TRIBUTES OF THE DAY:
To Usain Bolt. Hot DAMN!. Haven't seen anyone blow away the field like that in the Olympics 100M since Ben Johnson. I hope Bolt doesn't make me regret my awe and hyperbole by testing positive, but OMG!!!!! That boy can FLY!!! Definitely the fastest a man has ever run. If he hadn't decelerated and pre-celebrated, he'd definitely have broken 9.6. Freakazoidal is the only word that comes to mind. Like Lebron or something. A man whose completely unprecedented combination of size, speed and power makes a mockery of all the time honored assumptions of the sport. No matter how he ends up testing (and his goofy showmanship and boyish enthusiasm would really seem to make doping unlikely), right now I am testing positive for amazement. It's not every day that you see a man win the 100 by a mile.
To Michael Phelps. Yes, his achievement was truly extraordinary. And he is possibly the greatest Olympian ever (though given my landlubber bias, my precedent bias and, perhaps my reverese racial bias, i'd still be inclined to keep Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis as at least his equals.) Yes, an absolutely amazing performance. However, having said that: I wasn' t that impressed with the competition. Sure, they were pretty great for humans. But next time, I'd like to see him race against fish. Could you see him, getting out-touched in the 100M Butterfly by a middle-aged, out-of-shape flounder? Or lapped in the 400 Individual Medley by an impish porpoise?
To Dara Torres. OK, your body scares me a little. And I really feel bad for any older brother you might have had and might have beaten the crap out of on a daily basis throughout your childhood. And, yeah. from what I've heard, you're not exactly the most doting and attentive mother. In fact, I suspect that you forgot you had a 2 year old child back home until the interviewer asked you about her right after the race. But as a matter of principle, I've gotta give it up to anyone who brings athletic glory to the over 40 demographic. So big ups to ya! And I apologize for the gratuitous semi-misogynistic double standards I just applied to you. Please don't beat the crap out of me. I'm just an insecure, threatened male and I promise I won't do it again.
Here's to the people who came in fourth by .01 seconds. As Cavic and Torres and others know, coming in second by .01 seconds totally totally blows. But coming in fourth by that cruelest of margins and hence not getting any medal at all: That mega totally totally blows. Sure nobody remembers who comes in second. But at least you have a medal to remind them. You come in fourth and are every bit as much a part of the historical record as one of those small towns that were erased from the map under Stalin.
TEDDY VEGAS OLYMPIC ACHIEVEMENT OF THE DAY:
Thanks to the ridiculously delicious and abundant food preparations of gourmet grillmaster and friend of blog SJ, I approximated the daily caloric intake of Michael Phelps yesterday...without any of the associated physical exertions.
LFAQ of the DAY:
Is Usain Bolt the most sport-appropriate name since Junior Seau (Say-ow!)?
How did anyone discover this guy? How do you stumble uon the fact that this ungainly 6'5" goofy guy can run like a blur? Was he running from the law? From a cheetah (Ok, I know: No cheetahs in Kingston)? From an angry father Bolt? But you really have to wonder how this shocking and unexpected skill was discovered.
OLYMPIC COMMENTS OF THE DAY:
My Nastia Liukin crush notwithstanding, I have a hard time watching the women’s gymnastics--much as I have a hard time watching women’s figure skating. I find it really painful and anxiety producing to watch sports that posit a notion of perfection and then conceive of every routine as a series of minor failures relative to that essentially unattainable ideal. Events that are graded from perfection on down and that carry within them the perpetual possibility (nay likelihood) of heartbreaking failures and humiliating falls.
It’s a sport in which accomplishment is defined merely in terms of the relative minimization of error and it is oppressiv to watch—especially if you have a modicum of empathy. Although, that said: some of the lithe young bodies are just delightful.
Speaking of Nastia Liukin. Crush over. She couldn’t even beat a 12 year old last night!
Really tiring of Bob Costas’s squeaky clean teacher's pet cheesiness. I want to see someone pop him in his brown-nosing little larynx. It's a bad sign when you actually look forward to hearing Chris Collingsworth.
OLYMPICS-INSPIRED REFLECTION OF THE DAY:
What is the start value of my nighttime dental and periodontal care routine? I think it’s up there—as it involves full toothbrush, micro brush, dental floss and gum pic. Granted, while the start value is high, I don’t always nail the execution. That said, it would be really sweet if there were a pretty Russian judge in my shower to give me a generous score from time to time.
NON OLYMPIC SPECTACLE OF THE DAY:
Charlie Rose. Just trying so hard (SO HARD!!!!) to understand funny, to understand powerful, to understand smart, to understand creative, to undertand all of these fascinating, fascinating things via his fascinating fascinating guests.
The most riveting regularly scheduled televised spectacle since seeing James Lipton perform amazing feats of ingratiation nightly on Bravo.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“Listen, if i can find a patch of time when i'm not depressed and not really busy, you'll be the third to know.”
PHILOSOPHY AND ADVERTISING REFLECTION OF THE DAY:
After working all these years in advertising, I am forced to ask: During my college years as a Philosophy major, were Freud, Holderlin, Nietszche, Stevens, Hegel, Heidegger, Kant, Derrida etc. brands for me? Trusted signifiers of social exclusivity and personal identity? Names to which I was attached out of extreme snob appeal? Clearly, they were not entirely that. Nor were Godard, Shakespeare of Lacan (to drop a few more). They were profoundly heartfelt experiences that resonated with my innermost sense of self. But were they not also in some small way functioning as brands? As statements? As social differentiators in the marketplace of ideas? Ah...whatever. F*ck branding.
WISH I HAD A CAMERA MOMENT OF THE DAY:
A subway poster with a photo of Jimmy Smits reads: "I am a New Yorker who cares." A clever graffiti artist, modified it memorably with the addition of two punctuation marks: "I am a New Yorker. Who cares?"
MOMENT OF TRUE FEELING OF THE DAY:
Poignance of this end-of-day, end-of-weekend, end-of-summer light in the mid-to-late afternoon of my life.
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Posted on 8/19/2008
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August 01, 2008
IMAGE OF THE DAY:
This image has in no way been Photoshopped or otherwise manipulated. It was simply that on the afternoon of Sunday July 27, the Montauk sky was channeling Mark Rothko.
POLITICAL COMMENT OF THE DAY:
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/07/30/politics/horserace/entry4307418.shtml
I assume you've all seen the McCain attack ad against Obama. If not, check it out at the above link. A stunningly shameless semiotic stew--concocted by the same fine folks who swift boated black senatorial candidate Harold Ford in 2004 with a loose white woman signing off the spot with a sexually suggestive "Call me, Harold."
Highlights include:.
The association of Barack Obama with Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. Say WHAT!?!?
The subtextual connection of a black man to loose white women to appeal to the bigot base. ("Call me, Barack.")
The malicious dishonesty of claiming that Obama's principled opposition to offshore drilling implies a greater dependence on foreign oil. (This Rovean dishonesty itself of course being compelling confirmation of Obama's claim that McCain is just four more years of Bush-Cheney.)
The subliminal suggestion of Obama's "foreign-ness" via the lle about increased dependence on FOREIGN oil.
The intimation of the black candidate's audacity (read uppitiness) in fraternizing with foreign leaders and presuming to already be The Man.
The pathetic, fear-mongering.
The ugly innuendo.
The exactly what you'd expect-ness of it.
I mean the McCain camp has started an "Audacity Watch" for the uppity Obama. Honest to goodness. It's the audacity of shamelessness versus the audacity of hope.
And it's officially gotten ugly.
Freaking haters.
I hate 'em.
And no: I'm not trying to be self-referential and paradoxical and cute.
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For what it's worth, I think Obama's campaign is handling it well. Exposing it as another batch of fear-mongering and lies from a desperate candidate with no new ideas. ("Ooops,. He did it again.") I do think there will be karmic repercussions--soon detectable in the polls.
And if I'm wrong. Well, this future Minister General of The Commentariat is ready for the big secession.
Obama States of America, here I come a quipping.
UNNATURAL SHOCKS OF THE DAY: (Only 904 to go!)
The exercise pill. (What's next, the PhD lotion?).
That Barack Obama has been compared to Paris Hilton and Brittney Spears.
REPRESENTATIVE ANECDOTE OF THE DAY:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/28/iowans-arrested-trying-to_n_115290.html
Evidently, a bunch of people attempting to perform a citizen's arrest on Karl Rove (for ignoring a Congressional subpoena, I believe) were themselves arrested before they could do so for disturbing the peace!! Can you think of a more brilliantly self-referential distillation of Rovean principle-free pre-emptive tactics? Or indeed of the Bush-Cheney M.O. of villifying if not criminalizing those who oppose them in the name of defending their freedom?
CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DAY:
Muhammad Ali: The Mahatma Ghandi of pugilism.
LFAQs of THE DAY:
Now that Karadzic has been apprehended, will he lose the awful disguise or try to plead insanity?
What is the more preposterous: Comparing Obama to Paris Hilton or comparing Bush to Abraham Lincoln?
How many times have guest said, "Charlie" in the mode of rhetorical address as a guest on the Charlie Rose show? (I would love to keep stats on the number of times each guest has recourse to that cozily gratuitous form of address. "Well, Charlie..." "...As you know, Charlie,..." , "Well, that's a good question, Charlie...etc.))
REMINDER TO SELF:
Start a "Charlie Meter" for the Charlie Rose show.
SPEC AD IDEA OF THE DAY:
For Baby Gap. Visual. A photo of a little baby.
HEADLINE: Isn't it nice to see a model who doesn’t make you feel too chubby or too short?
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Posted on 8/1/2008
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