Why Didn’t He Run??

I voted from Al Gore back in 2000, and I try not to think about how different things would be today had my dear home state not screwed up so spectacularly. Had he run for President again, I would have supported him without second thought. Now, I just wonder if he’ll step up and publicly endorse any of the current candidates before the primaries are largely done. The very fact that he hasn’t yet endorsed any candidate might speak to his hesitance to support another Clinton administration, but not out-right wanting to publicly dis them either. Or he just wants to stay out of it altogether. Either way, his thoughts on gay marriage ought to ring loudly in the ears of all the candidates for the Democratic nomination.

Smearing Obama

While I’m certainly more sensitive to smears against Obama than any other of the candidates, I still believe that Obama has had to handle more than his fair share of nasty misinformation. What blows my mind are that some of my friends and family have believed or even passed along these claims. Here are some of the more pernicious ones and their factual responses.

Obama is a secretive Muslim - He’s actually a Christian, not that it should matter.

Obama belongs to a blacks-only church - His church Trinity Church of Christ, though predominantly black, welcomes anyone regardless of their color.

Obama won’t support Israel - Obama has frequently acknowledged the importance of supporting Israel, though not without acknowledging the plight of the Palestinians.

Obama doesn’t have enough experience - Though this one is less a smear than a simple opinion, Obama has actually been an elected official for longer than Hillary Clinton.

Finally, here’s Obama himself speaking to a paper in Nevada. In lieu of reading and/or listening to his two books, this interview is an excellent snapshot capturing a little bit of why I support him over any other candidate.

MST3K Diaspora

Such an amazing time for us MSTies (ie. followers of the classic B-movie riffing show Mystery Science Theater 3000), with the recent release of the third viable mind child from the creators of MST3K - Cinematic Titanic. Check out the promo below.

Before this most recent release, several of the other MST3K writers/actors were releasing similar projects as The Film Crew and audio-only commentary tracks as Rifftrax. All that I’ve seen/heard so far have been fantastic, and I’m just thrilled after several years of silence to see some of my favorite comediennes back in the saddle. Hi-keeba!

Aliens!

While I have enjoyed a number of “Tom Cruise movies”, I’m usually attracted more to the directors that utilize Cruise than Cruise himself. Still, Tom Cruise is absolutely bat-sh1t crazy…about Scientology! Need proof, then check out this video.

And speaking of aliens, it seems that our new overlords are searching “our leader” at his ranch in Texas.

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MCP?

Happy New Year!

What did you do for New Year’s Eve? I spent the final hours of 2007 and the first of 2008 playing with Charlie D. and the Things at the Cypress Cove Nudist Resort, our third New Year’s out there playing their big event. The place was packed with well-dressed and, well, not-so-dressed couples, and the vast majority were fantastic.

There was one exception, an unfortunate patron who hadn’t yet got his dinner somewhat late in the evening. While his plight was quite valid, his response to it was pretty horrible. His first attempt to bring light to the situation was to go up to the stage and use one of the band’s mics to yell “We want our food!” This was in-between sets, and when we finally got back, our new friend was back asking our band leader to make the announcement for him and his table.

While we’re certainly sympathetic to the hungry and frustrated, you really can’t expect the band to make proclamations or somehow intervene with the management. Just saying for those of you tempted in the future. Charlie politely referred him to the management, but instead, this guy kept coming up. He even passed us a note stating their request, as if to somehow improve the likelihood of it happening. More on note passing in a second. As a very appropriate response to this situation, Charlie decided to honor this man’s situation through musical request. Our first song of that set was Jimmy Buffett’s Cheeseburger in Paradise. Tasty!

For those of you dying to know how it all ended, the patron and his table did soon afterwards receive their food, though I believe the man himself actually didn’t stay to eat it (which was ashame, because the menu looked amazing).

A short while after all this, another note was brought up on stage from a different patron. The note said simply “please play something for normal people.” At the time this note was likely generated and delivered, we were in the middle of a classic rock medley. You know, Taking Care of Business, Old Time Rock & Roll, etc. Nothing spectacular or remotely fun to play, but certainly a staple of party bands for the last several decades. In short, crowd pleasers sure to fill up the dance floor…and it was!

Essentially, this lady was saying that they wanted something else to dance to, possibly slower, possibly less classic rockish, though we’ll never know for sure. In fact, at the time the note was passed around the band, we were already in the middle of a slow dance medley. At least she probably felt a bit more empowered after this, unlike the starving guy. Bands usually don’t mind taking requests, but its always better to ask for specific songs or, at least, specific genres. And try not to insult them by saying their music isn’t really conducive to “normal” people.

So yeah, Happy New Year and all! 2007 was pretty good, overall, and a vast improvement over 2006 for us. Here’s to hoping that 2008 will be even better. May you love, learn, and learn to love more than you did before!