Wine and Vodka

The Days of Wine and Vodka
Is actually the title of an episode in season three of Melrose Place. Fans of the show (ahem, me) will tell you that this is far and away the single best season of the show by. It's really amazing. As I sit here, watching the season three finale and being a little bit sad that this joyous ride of re-living television from my junior year of college is ending and also being grateful to Matt McD for making this MP festival at Chez Jocelyn possible, I am convinced that it is the best season of Melrose Place (though in fairness it does not come close to the brilliance of season two of 90210). In season three of this masterpiece of evening soap opera, we experience all of the following thrills and stresses:

- Dr. Kimberly Shaw has returned from the dead and framed Jane for Michael's murder, but she's crazy and has lost all of her hair. Sydney is convicted of Michael's murder attempt and sent to a loony bin.



- Amanda's father tries to have Jake killed on his boat.

- We are introduced to Jack Wagner and his hair in the role of Dr. Peter Burns. During the first episode he appears in, Dr. Peter Burns utters the following line to Amanda in reference to a chess game: "I'm tired of playing with myself."



- Jane attempts to marry an Australian, but it turns out that he's actually tried to rape Sidney. Michael and Kimberly break up the marriage and then get married themselves. When attempting to tell Jake about the attempted rape, Sydney says the following, "I'm a former hooker just out of the loony bin. Who's going to believe me?" Who, indeed, Sidney?

- Allison becomes an alcoholic, at one point uttering the line to Billy "At least in the morning, I'll be sober. You'll still be a self-centered pig." She then enters rehab where she becomes involved with a recovering sex addict.

- Jo is pregnant with the baby of a drug addicted ex-boyfriend whom she had to kill when he kidnapped her and locked her on a boat during a drug deal gone bad. His parents want custody of the baby, so rather than just give up the baby, Kimberly and Jo conspire to fake that the baby was born stillborn. But then Kimberly steals the baby and refuses to give it back to Jo.

- Amanda loses her job at D&D advertising. Then she and Peter pull a coup and get it back. Then the former president of D&D hangs himself in the office. Then Peter and his lover force Amanda out of her job again. But she rebounds, catches them extorting money and gets her job back. Then Amanda gets cancer and loses her job again. Allison takes over the agency and turns into a bitch. Then Amanda pulls yet another coup and gets her job back again. Oh, and her cancer goes into remission.

- Traci Lords guest stars for four episodes as Sidney joins a cult.



- A far less wholesome Kristin Davis guest stars for five episodes and almost marries Billy, who is left alone because Allison gets transferred to Hong Kong.



- Jake and Sidney have sex. Jake and Jane have sex. Michael and Jane have sex. Michael and Sidney have sex. Michael and Kimberly have sex. Michael and Amanda have sex. Amanda and Peter have sex. Jake and Jo have sex. Jo and Jake's brother, played by Dan Cortes, have sex. Dan Cortes is even less believable playing Jake's older brother than he was as a "VJ" on MTV.


(Remember how popular mule-shoes were in 1995? I had several pairs. You know you did, too.)

- Kimberly goes to "I'm not a victim" camp. Then she frames Michael for stalking Amanda.

- Jake and Dan Cortes leap from a construction platform. Billy and Kristin Davis may or may not get married in the cliff-hanger finale.

Maybe you didn't want to watch 24 episodes of brilliance. And if so, I say shame on you. But the preview for the dvd release gives you many of the best moments anyway. So enjoy.


People Who Serve Wine and Vodka
So, Saturday was caucus day here. I'm sure you heard by now that Hillary won. Which of course was very exciting for me, and was a key State for her because she didn't have much of a chance in South Carolina and needed to have split with Obama before Super Tuesday.

I would tell you that Hillary won Nevada based on hard campaigning. Most of the state's votes come from Vegas, and she and Bill were both here ALL week. And there were mass public events EVERY NIGHT. You could not miss them. You couldn't NOT be informed about where you were supposed to caucus and how. And by the way, I've never lived in a State with a caucus instead of a primary before, but it's good. It really makes you feel like part of the process, and it keeps politics local. Though, you know, no anonymity.

Anyway, the stats will tell you that Hillary won because of three things.

The women's vote, which makes sense.

The Latino vote, which also makes sense if you look at Clinton's historic voting record.

The fact that the workers of the Culinary Union didn't all vote their union endorsement (which was Obama). Now, given that this cross over of Culinary Union workers to the Hillary camp would be why she won (because it was really close - like you had no doubt that your vote counted it was so close), it still causes me pause.

I am neither pro union nor anti-union. What I am is a person who wants unions to work. Unions have been good to my parents, and to my grandparents, and possibly in the future to Pookie. I also do believe that people in power will take advantage of people without power, and unions are a good way to protect against that. HOWEVER, the unfortunate thing is that unions have shifted the balance of power, not created an equilibrium. It's the unions taking advantage of owners and executives when they insist that an auto factory worker is valued at $60,000 a year plus a benefits package worth a third of that salary plus a pension plan and then hamstring corporations from moving their labor force from the United States to places where labor is more affordable (and often more motivated). So, at this moment in time, I am certainly not pro-union. In most ways, they do more harm than good these days and just come off sounding whiny and greedy.

That said, I think the institution of unions is a good one and should be preserved.

Which is why I find it troublesome that the workers of the Culinary Union crossed over union affiliation in the primary. I knew that the Culinary Union endorsement of Obama would be hard to make happen. This is a union made up LARGELY of women who serve drinks to men for a living. Of course they're going to want to rally behind a woman. Also, it was already known that Hillary was going to take a large portion of the Latino vote here, and the Culinary Union in Vegas is, obviously, largely Latino.

Now, you will certainly not hear me saying that I think that people shouldn't vote for the candidate that best represents them. However, when you cross your union affiliation, it's a little bit short sighted. You need to support the organization that's going to protect YOU the most. Neither presidential candidate meets that criteria, but your union does. The problem, though, when you cross the union affiliation and vote otherwise, is that you weaken your union. One of the strengths of unions is that they can exert power on politicians, and they can do that because unions control HUGE blocks of MOBILIZED voters - voters you can count on to show up at the polls. When union members cross their union affiliation and vote for another candidate (and in this case in numbers that cause that candidate to win), they weaken the unions ability to lobby for them and get results.

So, while I'm glad Hillary won, and I don't love unions in their current form, I'm a little disappointed at the behavior of the Culinary Union workers altogether. Support the establishment that's supported you. In this town, the Culinary Union does a lot of good for a lot of people. It's possible they'll be able to do less of that in the future because they'll no longer be considered a unified, mobilized force.

But I'm glad she took Nevada.

 

Dear Fox: I Love You. Again. (A Monday Five)

1. Deja Vu: Remember last year when I wanted to burst into the new year full force...and then I got sick and busy and a ton of other stuff happened? Same old, same old. I have bronchitis. I have a court case. I have some post-holiday depression going on. It blows. I'm determined to get up at 6am tomorrow and get stuff done, which is really laughable if you know how little time I've spent outside of my bed this weekend. Sigh.

2. Best.Thing.Ever: My relationship with the Fox Network is much like my relationship with most men: I am alternately passionately in love with it or I am let down and disappointed by it. Tonight, I was passionately in love with Fox when they premiered "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles." I actually think I may have gotten moist when Summer Glau kicked open the truck door and said "Come with me if you want to live." I have high hopes. Oh, Fox. Please don't break my heart by making this go the way of "Dark Angel" or "Firefly." Please, please, please. And in case anybody missed the first night, here's the Fox "epic" teaser.



3. It's Been A Long Time Since: I was excited about the political process. Actually, I can tell you exactly when it was. It was when Gavin Newsom was running against Matt Gonzalez for mayor of San Francisco. Matt Gonzalez was a Green Party candidate, and it was the first real chance for somebody outside of one of the two major parties to hold a power position in a major city. And he had fascinating concepts about changing legislation to support urban environments where people rent-to-live instead of ever owning property and homelessness and such. He didn't win. And in fairness, Gavin Newsom has seemingly been a great mayor there. Anyway, I totally remember sitting in this Ethiopian restaurant that we were all in love with at the time with shamus, drinking red wine and listening to the political debates. I mean, we were really listening. Policies mattered and choices were really going to impact that city's future. And we cared about who we were voting for and so did most of the city. And people were talking about issues and change and what mattered in a leader.

This Presidential election feels like that to me. I feel passionate. I feel like almost certainly change will come and it will be a matter of what change. If nothing else, the country is talking. And that's all we could ask for.

4. Sean's Going Away Party: Was this weekend. Everybody is going to China. It makes me happy. I think that people need to go and live in the world - by which I mean outside of the US. I mean, Sean has lived in Japan before, so it's not like I'm saying he's been sheltered. I just like seeing people going out there and living in the WORLD like it's a whole thing. That is all. Here's a picture. And, actually, here are all the pictures.



5. Melrose Place: I am on the last disc of season two of Melrose Place. This is the season where Kimberly dies (and later comes back) and Michael marries Sidney and Jo gets kidnapped by a drug-dealing ex-boyfriend on a yacht and Amanda and Jake have an affair. It's awesome. Anyway, I was watching the last couple of discs of season two because I'm about to watch season three. Both seasons, of course, were given to me as gifts by Matt McD. And we were emailing the other day, and I told him I was re-watching in prep for season three. And he said this:

"I'm glad you went back to Melrose Place season two, because there are so many subtle plot elements they layered in then that didn't pay off until the next year."

Proving once again that my friends are far funnier than I am.

 

Would You Like to be President, Little Girl?

I really, REALLY never wanted to talk about the election on this blog. I didn't want to do it because it's somewhat pointless. There's nothing I can say to you that's going to change your mind about how you feel about my candidate. There's nothing you can say to me that's going to change mind. The beauty of a republic democracy is that we can have different opinions on why some things matter and some things don't. The problem with that is that it can polarize people, because some of those beliefs stem pretty far. I don't mind confrontational debate when there's a point and a possibility of finding a middle ground. But I hate it when it's pointless and only serves to further push people apart from each other.

I'm going to go ahead though and post this entry. I'm going to post it because I'm tired of dodging the questions about how and why I'm such a huge supporter of her in person and via email and on an on. I am absolutely not going to get in a comment thread debate, so don't bother. If you email me to tell me why I'm supporting the antichrist, I will nicely email you back and tell you that I love you because we can disagree and I'm not engaging in this argument with you. Unless you are Pookie, and then that ship already done sailed. But if you're wondering what's in my head, here it is.

So, who would I like for my next President?

Well, I would like Al Gore or Arnold Schwarzenegger. But since neither of those are being presented to me as an option, I'll be picking from a pool of other candidates.

Mitt Romney: I Think Jihadism Is Not So Much A Word
Mitt Romney is whom I believe my next President will be. And, quite honestly, he's the candidate whose political views and platform most closely mirror my own. And to be honest, in the right match up situation, I would vote for him. But it would be unlikely because at this point I don't trust any Republican candidate (and I'm a registered Republican) to be able to shake off the puppeteers. That said, there is no circumstance in which you will find me in tears if Mitt Romney were my next President - the way I was in tears, literally, both times that Bush won.

I don't know that I think that looking at Middle East Jihadism (which I think may be a word he made up) as similar to the Cold War is completely accurate, but I do think that it provides a reference point that can be used to create a plan. His tax plan is a little scary given that cutting middle class tax savings is unlikely to actually encourage the middle class to become more fiscally responsible and more likely to just piss them off and send them to Wal Mart in droves, but his fiscal record of cleaning up messes is impeccable and I am not an economist. His environmental plan is laughable. I'm not even sure one can call "Invest in research" a plan. He has issues. He'd also probably be the most successful of the batch if elected. He's not who I wear a hat and shirt for, but I'm not going to complain too loudly, or at all, if he gets elected. And I think that he will.

Barack Obama: I Don't Even Buy Your Hope, And That's My Problem
Barack Obama clearly represents what I think leadership SHOULD be about. It SHOULD be about inspiring hope, and believing in what you're representing, and being honest, and admitting mistakes. It SHOULD be about genuinely wanting to create a world in which everybody can be taken care of to the best of the country's ability. But, I mean, we talked about this extensively after I read his most recent book last year, and his actual politics infuriate me in their idealism.

"I'm in this race to take those tax breaks away away from companies that are moving jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of the hard working Americans who who deserve it."

Oh, shut the hell up. I can't take you seriously, Barack, since you've never in your life dealt with the financial realities of the business world. You know what? You want to take corporate tax cuts away from companies that outsource? Do it. They'll all just actually move offshore. Go find me enough of those hard working Americans who want to work for minimum wage and take actual pride in their work to make that justifiable, and we'll talk. I'm hiring two positions right now. I'm telling you you'll find your candidates few and far between.

I think it's awesome that Obama NEVER wavered or "played the line" in not supporting the war in Iraq. And I don't pretend to know whether pulling our troops out or keeping them there is really the best move at this point. But I do know that whatever choice he made, it would be because he truly believed it. And that inspires me. Because I don't think that anybody knows what the right move is. And at the very least, it would be comforting to know that whomever made the decision believed in it and wasn't just doing it because he was out of options.

But we've talked about it. I just don't buy his idealism. If it's real, then I question his ability to ultimately be effective. If it's a show, then everything I believe about him is false. That said, it's the same as with Romney. You won't see me crying if Barack Obama is my next President. Though of the three candidates that I think are worthy, he's the one who actually gives me the most cause for pause and I have SERIOUS issues with many of his policy stances, I would be happy.

Hillary for President in 2008
Let me just say, I do not think that she is perfect. And I am largely campaigning for her for no other reason than that she is a woman. That I'm doing that in and of itself infuriates me a little bit. Because I never wanted this to be about the fact that she was a woman. Mitt Romney's campaign isn't about the fact that he's a man. You see where I'm going. And had there been a candidate whom I really, truly believed would make an amazing President, I wouldn't be so strongly supporting Hillary. But in the absence of that type of candidate, I'm selecting between three candidates whom I all consider close in value, I'm going with what's important to me, and that's the idea of advancing women. I know that you will tell me that a woman like Hillary does not advance women, but I don't believe that to be true. I believe that ANY woman breaking through a heretofore impenetrable ceiling advances women. I probably don't think that Hillary is as evil as you do, but just for the sake of argument, let's say she is. If not her and now, then who, and when? Who do you see as a female politician that could become President in the next 20 years? There's nobody in the queue right now. At some point, some point, don't we need to give our daughters and sisters somebody to aspire to be -- even if she is in many ways imperfect -- who isn't a knocked up, lingerie-wearing, barely able to carry on a conversation let alone understand international policy, pop star? This is an opportunity to break an important barrier. If some other candidate blew me away, I wouldn't think that was a priority. But absent that, there's no reason for it not to be a priority.

Firstly, it's not that issues aren't important. She has the strongest environmental policy of the group by far. It's one that could actually work and work WITHOUT alienating current business too badly. It does bother me that her education policy involves "reforming" the No Child Left Behind Act instead of just dumping it and creating something that works, and I know a thing or two about the education system. That said, her platform has always supported the more European-based ideals of creating a way for families to thrive while facing economic and social realities that I find so lacking in America -- and to our detriment. The Health Care Plan? I hate it. I think that it's possible to create a universal health care that doesn't penalize people who can afford better than standard care, and her plan doesn't do that. But at least it's a plan to get people covered. I happen to think it will do more harm than good. But we'll see.

And now, you are surely crawling telling me why not to support her. It's fine. I know a lot of people hate her and what she represents. Just apparently not the people of New Hampshire (ha). I'm going to address some of the big ones, just so you know that I've thought it through and I'm not just being female reactive. Don't pick a fight with me. You're not going to change my mind. I'm not going to change yours. It's fine. But here's what I think.

Hillary Has Created Too Much Antagonism To Ever Be Able to Be a Good Bi-Partisan Leader
Well, I agree with you. Barack's greatest strength is that people love him and that would help him impact change. Mitt Romney's is that he's almost clinically logical and it's hard to argue with that. People hate Hillary. Politicians hate Hillary. The media even seems to hate Hillary. Her Presidency would be a ridiculous cavalcade of politicians trying to boost their own standing by contradicting hers. Of her being criticized and press-stalked more than any President you'll be able to remember in our lifetime. She will create more controversy, second guessing, conflict and strife than any of the other candidates. And I don't love that. I admire her, because she is a smart woman and she clearly knows that what she is asking for with the potential of being President is a new kind of fresh hell unlike any she's experienced before. I admire it though it's not why I'm voting for her, because I, too, think that that natural state of confrontation that would come bundled with her is a drawback. I don't have an answer for you. I think it's a problem, too. It was one of the things that made me question whether I wanted to support her.

How Could You Vote for Her After That Bullshit Ploy With the Tears Before New Hampshire?
Well, I'll tell you. I think that anybody who makes an election decision based on ANYTHING that happens during a candidate's campaign pretty much gets what they deserve in the end. Look at voting records, history, statements of belief, plans and platforms. Anything else is just a marketing campaign. I mean, are those tears any more ridiculous than Barack's endless series of shots with his perfect family? Or anybody's holiday commercials? Were the tears fake? Yeah, probably. Do I care? No. Right now, all of the candidates are products in the hands of marketers. If you're going to make your decision about the next leader of the free world based on a speech at a podium on poll day, then, you know, as a country we get what we deserve for not taking a greater responsibility as a nation for making sure people understood the issues instead of the emotion. I give as much a shit about Hillary-Crygate as I do about Barack's ride on the Oprah Train. Neither of those things matter a snitch in relation to how those people will actually govern.

Any Woman Who Would Let Her Husband Treat Her the Way Bill Treated Her Shouldn't Be President.
And on this one I say...

If you have lived a perfect relationship in which nobody has ever done anything to devastate, break faith, hurt, embarrass or destroy the other person ...
If you have never had to face the choice between forgiveness and the alternative ...
If you really feel that you are 100% confident that, had you been Hillary Clinton in that spot, looking at everything behind you and everything ahead of you - in the MIDDLE of your husband's presidency no less, you would have really felt that, without a doubt, your best option for you, your career, your child, your family and the country, was to exit that marriage ...
If you honestly believe that you know in truth all of the facts of their relationship and how it operates ...
And most importantly if you think it matters one iota as to her ability to be President, then please, by all means, continue with your complaint.

Otherwise, shut the hell up. If it makes any difference, I wouldn't have left that marriage either. Sometimes individual actions are not as important as greater contexts.

I Don't Want Her To Be The First Woman President Because It Would Send A Message About Playing Dirty to Get There
Well, firstly, most men play dirty to get there, too. I'm not sure we need to hold her to a higher standard than we would a man. I think the fact that she's played dirty is more front and center because Barack is in the race. I think that one of the great things about having Barack in the race is that everybody is more accountable.

I don't want to make this about the fact that she's a woman, but I have news for you. There is no woman who was going to get a serious chance at the presidency just by having an amazing record as a politician/senator/public servant. If that was true, Diane Fienstein would have gotten a real look taken at her long ago. I don't mind the fact that Hillary had to scrap and do some questionable things to get here. Because maybe if she can get elected, the next woman won't have to. But I'm not going to hold it against her that she did. She's fought a battle that, to the best of my knowledge no woman reading this blog has. And if she wins her battle, it changes things for women whether you like it or not.

Because, listen, baby, I have news for you. It's still a man's world out there. If a male politician were to have stayed with a cheating wife, we'd be applauding him for being gracious and forgiving, not nailing him to the cross for being weak. If a male politician had made personal life choices (like staying in said marriage) in order to advance his career, we'd be saying that those are the sacrifices you need to make. I could go on, but you get my point. Part of the reason we find her so distasteful is because she operates in a man's world, like man (or at least like a certain kind of man). But the best way to impact change is from the inside, so I have no complaints that she learned to play their game. And better her than me. And at the very least let's give her credit for that.

At least if she got elected, she wouldn't have to deal with getting paid seventy cents on the dollar to her male counterparts. Last time I checked, the salary for the US President was set, regardless of gender.

Her Policies Don't Hold Up
Some of them don't. Please refer me to the candidate for whom that statement is not true. I will change my vote because they will clearly be supernatural.

She Took Money From Horrible Special Interest Groups Like NAMBLA
You know, I'm not a hypocrite. No, I don't love that. But here's the reality of my life: I make money by exploiting a known addiction to extract money from people in an activity that is barely legal in a city where our entire economy is based on encouraging you to act as hedonistic as possible. I spend money at Wal Mart, though I know that spending money there supports choices, activities and exploitations that I don't support. Those two things probably barely touch the surface of all the ways in which money changes hands in my daily life in ways that support things that, at base, I find morally, ethically and spiritually abhorrent. So I'm not going to say a damn word about how Hillary raises campaign money.

So there you have it. For me, right now, it is completely about wanting to advance women. And sometimes, moving forward is ugly and you have to put the biggest, baddest-ass running back in the game to break through the defensive line. And usually, if the NFL is any indication, that person is a steroid user and a felon. Later on you put the good kid who does charity work around town and was an honors student in after the defensive line has worn down. As women, in the category of national leadership, we haven't been willing to put our big, bad players in, and when they do step up to the line, we generally don't want to support them. Somebody has to bust through that defensive line at some point.

And if not her, then who? And when? And how long from now will the next opportunity happen? And how many little girls who could have been the female Presidential candidate that we all WISH we could have won't even consider it because there's nobody to have paved the way for them?

 

I Haven't Got the Energy for Anything Other Than a Random Five

1. Actual Dialogue from This Weekend

My Date's Friend to Me
You're beautiful, smart and engaging. Tht already puts you ahead of most of the population.

My Date
Well, it for sure puts her ahead of most of the Vegas population.

Me
Wrong answer, hombre.

2. 90210 Season Two, Episode 1: This is the episode where Brenda thinks that she's pregnant and then breaks up with Dillon and Luke Perry ACTS THE SHIT OUT OF PAINED DILLON. He feels dead, ya'll. I actually went back and watched certain scenes a second time after the first time through. God, it's good times starting all over again. And people, this is the "summer" season where Brandon gets a job as a cabana boy. I'm giddy with anticipation.

3. Pennsylvania! So I'll be there all weekend. I'm excited. Tyler and Cienna time (and Candy and Larry time, too!). Food. Mom time. Food. Ferris time. Food. Pookie time. Food. Joshua time. Food. Except let's me honest, not so much with the food. I've lost so much weight since I've been sick that people are actually noticing. I'm not a big girl to begin with, so when you lose enough weight that people have noticed, it's time to explore finding ways to put it back on.

4. A Strange Irony: I'm finding it amusing how many of my friends who are all "I HATE THOMAS FRIEDMAN" are also strong Barack supporters. I finished the book this weekend, and I have to tell you, his foreign policy beliefs are pretty similar to Friedman's. Different because Obama grew up in some third-world-being-industrialized nations, so he's got more first-hand experience with the negatives of American foreign policy. But still. Not so much difference there.

5. Thank You Universe: For the crazy, perfect weekend you handed over. It's like I no longer get to roll out my complaint blanket about age inappropriate men or the universe not trying to help me with my goals. Let's have another week like that.

 

Friday Five is Big Time This Week

1. Aging Out: Let us, of course, begin by discussing Age of Love. If I haven't made it clear yet, this show is brilliant. This week's highlights included:
- Mark Phillipousis discussing how he had a hard time talking to Tessa without staring at her boobs
- Even more gratuitous shots of Mark Phillipousis with his shirt off.
- The most brilliant quote ever by a 24 year old with huge fake boobs. "I have great thoughts."

If you are not watching this show, you're missing out. Don't say later that I didn't warn you. This shit makes I Love New York and Charm School look like amateur hour.

2. To Barack or Not to Barack: I really struggle as I read his book, you know, because there are a lot of places where his policy issues are so very, very different than mine. But on the other hand, he's a good man with good intentions and good will towards him which would make him a good President. And, most importantly, when he writes about spirituality and religion and faith and their larger roles in society, he moves me deeply. Maybe you don't want to read all 400 pages of his book, and that's cool. But go find an excerpt of the chapter on faith and read it. It will give you many moments of pause, I promise.

3. One of my favorite episodes of TV ever: I decided to finish watching season two of Northern Exposure before starting 90210. Don't you all worry. I'm TOTALLY STAYING IN ALL WEEKEND (by which I don't mean Friday), so I'm sure there will be lots of 90210 watching. Anyway, I had forgotten how much I love the second to last episode of season two of Northern Exposure. The episode is called "War and Peace" and it's the one where the Russian opera singer visits. But it's also the one where Ed falls in love and then experiences heartbreak for the first time. And there's a four minute scene with Ed and Chris in the Morning about feeling heartbreak for the first time that's really beautiful television. That show had some great moments.

4. It's Visiting Time: Summer means visits to Vegas, and that makes Jocelyn a super happy girl. Especially since last week I bought the hottest new partay dress EVER and there are now excuses to wear it. xtine has been here, like, so often that I'm about to charge her rent (joking, I'd pay her to be here). J-Flo and K-Flo are headed out at the end of July so I get to see them. shamus has supposedly booked a ticket. In the category of "acronyms that are too close," I'm going to Denver to see K-Yo the first weekend in August. I also get to see my burly boys for a hiking trip at the end of the month. I hear rumors of a Woodyall trip. And on top of all that, I get to go home to PA next week for Ferris' birthday (age undisclosed) and see all of my favorite people there. Who's a happy girl about seeing so many of her friends in the next two months? This girl is.

5. New Friday Feature: We're going to start doing a Friday feature of a playlist of the five songs I've got in heavy rotation that week until I figure out that this technology just isn't working. Anyway, here's this week's five hotties. And, yo, I didn't put an auto-start on this stream, so you have to actually click the play button. Mom, you just email me if you're confused.

- Princess - Matt Nathanson. Somebody sent this to me this week and told me that the song reminded them of me. And so I listened to it, and it was a little hard to listen to, but in the end I did kind of see lyrics that were, you know, self-descriptive. "All my pauses, they're all stops anyway." You can read all the lyrics here.

- I Saw/Angel - Matt Nathanson. Because I then listened to his other stuff, and this song is beautiful too. Lyrics are here.

- Unpretty - TLC. I had forgotten about this song. It's one of the best songs they ever recorded. I've been back on the tip this week. Lyrics here.

- You Want to Make a Memory - Bon Jovi. The number one album in the country, folks. It's a really beautiful song and his voice sounds amazing on it. Lyrics here.

- Trouble - Ray Lamontagne. This song isn't so much about lyrics. It's just so melodically beautiful, and who doesn't love his voice and his passion? I could listen to it 100 times.

Enjoy. I have a big full weekend ahead. Of work. Not joking. Rock it on.

 

Oh, Barack. You're Such a Believer. Only I am Not.

This one's for you, Pook. Thanks for the quesiton.

Things we already know and accept at ILovePaulJack are that my money, time and energy are behind the Hillary campaign. And this is despite the fact that, truthfully, I feel like, barring a scandal, Barack Obama probably has the primary wrapped up. And people have asked me why I would throw my support (such as it is) behind Hillary when Barack seems like both a more viable candidate and like somebody who would be more able to impact change if he were to be elected.

And for me, it really comes down to one thing. Hillary has faults, and they are numerous, and we all know all about them. But the premise on which Barack Obama builds his politics is just, for me, a fantasy.

To begin, I do love Barack Obama. I love his optimism, I love his ability to believe in the system's return to integrity, I love his honesty, I love how he doesn't pretend to be impartial about all things. Mostly, I love how he uses words. I love to hear him speak. I love to read his writing. I think that, if there's not some deep dark secret we don't know about, he is an exceptional man.

But I also think that he is misguided in the basis of his very belief system. And I give you, as evidence, an excerpt from The Audacity of Hope.

"No blinding insights emerged from these months of conversation. If anything, what struck me was just how modest people's hopes were, how much of what they believed seemed to hold constant across race, region, religion, and class. Most of them thought that anybody willing to work should be able to find a job that paid a living wage. They figured that people shouldn't have to file for bankruptcy because they got sick. The believed that every child should have a genuinely good education -- that it shouldn't just be a bunch of talk -- and that those same children should be able to go to college even if their parents weren't rich. They wanted to be safe, from criminals and from terrorists; they wanted clean air, clean water, and time with their kids. And when they got old, they wanted to be able to retire with some dignity and respect. That was about it. It wasn't much."

To which I can only say.

Dear Barack Obama,

Are you running for President in the same country that I live in?

Love,
jocelyn

Firstly, Barack, I am glad you had such an inspirational experience during your campaign trip. Awesome. But any marketer will tell you that when you cull opinions from a focus group the opinions you get will be, by default, skewed because you are getting opinions from people who, for whatever reason, are willing to participate in the process. Hence they will "think" more than the average, apathetic person. If I pay 20 people $75 each to participate in my focus group, you'd better believe they're really considering my product, because I'm paying them to. And if I randomly grab 20 people out of the crowd in a mall, same dealio. Those people cared enough to stop what they were doing, therefore they will care more about what they are doing. The people who came to your union meetings and town hall meetings and kitchen table meetings are people who cared enough about the process of politics to participate. Therefore, by default, they are still believers. Your sample size was wrong in determining that the American people have modest hopes and dreams that can be accomplished by simple government cleanup.

Perhaps what you should have done was come to Wal-Mart with me for a day and just, you know, sit there. And I'm not talking about so that you can see the 5% of Wal-Mart shoppers who are there because the existence of a Wal-Mart in their town has meant that there are no longer any other places to shop. I'm not even talking about the 5% of Wal-Mart shoppers who come in to stare blindly at the flat screens as though they were in meditative prayer. I'm talking about the 90% of Wal-Mart shoppers who come in there because they feel totally entitled to 33% more cheetos at sixty cents on the dollar and fuck the repercussions. The system has kept them DOWN and now they want their justly deserved super sizes at discount prices.

Or come hang out on the Strip with me. No, don't do that. That's America at it's worst.

How about we have lunch with the thousands of Americans who will blame Bush and anybody else who's ever made money off of oil for the economy, social classes AND terrorism, but will still go out and buy an SUV instead of a hybrid because it's cool to look like you just stepped out of a music video. Oh, and hey! Let's buy one for the kids, too! Let's take no responsibility for the fact that the market dictates the actions of corporations and if you want clean air and water your purchasing decisions will drive that.

I know! Let's go to an irate town hall meeting where folks are talking about how every child deserves an education. A good one. Then let's ask them if they can name one mandate of the No Child Left Behind act and watch them stare blankly because they don't want to have to "read" to find out what major legislation is actually determining their child's quality of education. Then let's ask them if we can tax them another five cents per acre for property tax to create competitive wages for teachers and watch them run you out of town chased by burning torches.

Let's not even talk about everybody who wants to work should be able to do so at a livable wage. Come to Peru, or China, or even Jamaica with me and I'll show you that attitude. Here, everybody who wants to work wants to work flipping houses so that they don't have to work.

Let's see how many Americans who want to retire with dignity define dignity as anything less than independently wealthy. Let's see how many twenty-five-year-olds who define "livable wage" do so with a wage that is livable versus a wage that ensures the purchase of aforementioned SUV.

So, the answer, Pookie, to your question is that I don't think she's the be-all, end-all either. I, like you, would prefer a Gore option. But at least I know that the premise of her politics isn't that people are inherently good and will be satisfied if she returns them to the simple lifestyle we once saw in a Norman Rockwell painting. At least she understands that the American population is, by and large, pretty greedy and lazy. Barack Obama is either misguided and building a political vision based on illusion, or he's willingly trying to make me believe in a world of puppies and rainbows. And because he seems like a good, well-intentioned guy, I'm going to have to go with the belief that he's a little misguided by his own optimism. And that's a little scary.

Pookie - Go - Discuss. But do it Monday since I know you do not have internet access in your home. Pook: Putting the less back into wireless.