Liveblog: ELECTION DAY!

At long last, it has arrived. I just came back from casting my ballot. Now all we can do is wait.

I'll be glued to CNN all day long so make sure to check back in throughout the day for some crazy Election Day liveblogging!

9:26 - CNN is covering the final election stops for both candidates, trying to get out that message one more time. They're interviewing Jesse Jackson Jr. who apparently is a Congressman from Illinois who is being discussed as Obama's replacement in the Senate if needed. Let's not count our chickens before they're hatched, guys. There are still plenty of ways the Republicans can steal... err, "win"... this election.

9:48 - Don't forget that it's not just about the White House today. The Democrats are also looking to pick up nine Senate seats to have a filibuster-proof majority there. Keep your eyes on all those races as well.

9:59 - The shows are pretty silly right now. Talking about what companies are giving freebies for voting. Having some first time voters leave their comments on the CNN site and showing them. Nothing much of substance yet. No major voting problems yet but CNN does have a hotline you can call if you experience such a problem. That's awesome of them.

10:02 - They're talking about big crowds in some places, huge voter turnout - but sparse crowds in others. That's going to make me nervous. I said this morning that I think high turnout favors Obama because I don't think McCain was motivating people to go register. They're at a poll in Florida with a couple people in line. There was one in Missouri earlier with no one there. They're saying the big counties in Florida are reporting one to two hour lines. We waited 45 minutes or so this morning. STAY IN LINE, PEOPLE! Don't get frustrated and leave because you think your vote won't matter. EVERY VOTE COUNTS!

10:27 - They just showed a woman who videotaped herself as she flipped a coin in her bedroom this morning to decide who to vote for. What a maroon. Oh, but it landed on heads which for her was Obama soooooo... Good job!

10:33 - Report on voting problems nationwide. Some scary stuff. Some mechanical problems, some problems with not being on the voter rolls, some people just bitching about lines. They did note that there is a growing number of voters complaining about coercion. I'm curious to hear more about that. Virginia is having problem with wet ballots because of the rain. They're talking about a polling place where they had 5 of 7 machines break down and had to switch to paper ballots. How the fuck does this stuff happen? Arrrrgh.

10:36 - They're interviewing a family with three generations of African-Americans. Gave me a bit of a chill. The grandmother is crying and saying that God kept her here for a reason and she believes it's so she can see this day. The grandson [named Shaquille by the way!] says that Obama has inspired so many people and has inspired him to try and be a better person. The mother says it's more than just African-Americans though - that Obama is an inspiration to people of all races and ethnicities. You said it, sister.

10:39 - Holy crap! They're projecting that Colorado will have over 90 percent voter turnout. That's nuts. They also say over fifty percent participated in early voting which they think explains the short lines in many places.

11:55 - Not a lot to talk about yet. A McCain rep was just on saying that they'll win Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania and that their polling shows them within the margin of error. I know he's paid to say all that but I'm planning on being nervous until it's over. And really over - not Al Gore Wins! over.

12:07 - The first polls close in just under three hours and they're talking about record voter turnout nationwide that they now fear may delay vote counting because of long lines. It could be a long night, people.

12:24 - God, I can't wait for the polls to close. They just spent ten minutes talking about race with some guy who made a poster of Obama as a white guy and McCain being black. I wanted to Van Gogh [or Mick Foley] myself and I truly thought it wasn't going to get any worse - until they just announced that an interview with Joe The Plumber is coming up. Fuuuuuuuuuck! WHERE ARE THE EXIT POLLS?!

12:43 - Seriously, they just did another teaser for the Joe The Plumber interview. SLIT! MY! WRISTS! Oh, here he comes finally. A phone interview! He's too busy to show up live via satellite. I hate this fucker on CNN during the day too. He should probably be doing the weather somewhere. Maybe the Wacky Weekend Weather. He should wear a hat and throw little magnetic suns and stuff at the wall. Joe The Plumber says his principles are why he doesn't want other people's money and WHAT IF?!? WHAT IF?!? Oh my god. The CNN guy told him, "You're nowhere near making that kind of money so why do you care?" His reply is, "So it's okay to go out and rob a bank?" THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO VOTE FOR JOHN MCCAIN! The CNN guy is drilling him. This is awesome. Joe says the people who make over $250k shouldn't get taxed more because they've "worked harder in their lives." Wow. This is amazing television suddenly. He's calling the CNN guy "brother" and getting pissy because "you haven't vetted Obama like this!" He's telling the CNN guy to "look up principles in the dictionary and then maybe you'll understand."

12:57 - Uh oh. People having to do provisional ballots in Pennsylvania now. A lady complained about having to do one because she was left off the registration rolls at a place she's been voting at FOR TEN YEARS! How the hell does that happen?

12:58 - Jeremiah Wright ad that has been running all day. "Barack Obama. Too Radical, Too Risky." Also features the catchy catchphrase "Hate He Can Believe In." Mudslinging fuckers. There's a special level of Hell reserved for those fuckers, I tell ya!

1:07 - A comment went across the scrawl that said, "WRITE IN HILLARY CLINTON!!! SHE SHOULD BE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE!!!" It's funny - I didn't know my Mom knew how to send comments to CNN.

1:23 - Apparently the first batch of exit polls are going to be covered within the hour. Wolf Blitzer has taken over now so I'm much happier. They're talking with an Obama senior adviser now who is... well, talking about Obama playing basketball. Anything for a story today, I guess.

1:26 - MAGIC WALL~! First appearance of the night. It truly is Election Night now.

1:57 - 2 1/2 hour wait to vote in Miami. Hopefully there's no chad a-danglin'. There's also a report of a hoax text message that says, "Due to long lines today, all Obama votes are asked to vote on Wednesday. Thank you." Who the fuck believes shit like that? Honestly, if they didn't all seem to be targeted towards Democrats, I'd hold up the belief that anyone who falls for that doesn't deserve to vote to begin with. But... well, yeah. Go vote, dummy!

2:10 - EXIT POLLS! The Economy is the #1 issue with 62 percent of voters - big shock. Iraq is 10 percent. Terrorism is 9 percent. Health care is 9 percent. They're talking about how exit polling works. Fascinating stuff there. Under one hour til the first polls close. No exit polling on Early Voting or Mail-In Voting. They did some phone polling on those voters though. That's all so far. Losers. 3 hour lines in Orlando. DON'T GIVE UP, PEOPLE! STAY IN LINE!

2:17 - MORE EXIT POLLS! Huh. So in almost every state with exit polls in, people who were concerned about Iraq voted for Obama. That's a surprise for McCain, I bet. That's kinda interesting but it hardly qualifies as "BREAKING NEWS" like Wolf sold us on. Oh, joy... we're going to Alaska! The poor bastard they sent to Alaska looks like he's freezing his balls off. It's apparently 9 degrees. She "hopes, prays, and believes" she'll win. Awesome. They asked her if she voted for Senator Ted Stevens who was convicted on corruption charges recently. Her response? "I don't have to tell anyone who I voted for." Now they're showing the Clintons voting. Bill says he feels great about what Hillary did. Wow. Hillary has crazy bags under her eyes. She looks awful. Oh, Fox News said earlier that the Clintons may have voted for McCain. Nothing like trying for one last ditch effort to divide the party. Fuckers.

2:27 - I love CNN's "Fact" section on the crawl. "FACT: If Barack Obama wins, he'll become the first African-American president." No shit? I wish someone had said something before. "FACT: If John McCain wins, he'll be the first President from Arizona." Fascinating.

2:30 - Of United States voters whose vote was driven by terrorism being their top concern, 86 percent voted for McCain. Luckily, only 9 percent marked that as their top issue nationwide. Giuliani is... IN... THE... HOUSE! Less than 30 minutes til the first polls close. Rudy says the Republicans have "lost part of their brand" since they're no longer the "small government, low spending" party in reality. He wants to re-establish that to "win back the base."

2:40 - More voting problems. 3,000 calls in the last hour. Norfolk, Virginia has lines of 5 to 7 hours with reports of people leaving the polls. DO! NOT! LEAVE! Take a book. Take your iPod! Come on, people. What's more important? Five hours of your life watching reality TV or voting in potentially the most important election of your life. EXIT POLLS~! People who describe themselves as "New Voters" are 72 percent in favor of Obama. Good news.

2:50 - Awesome. Robocalls in Spanish announcing that Fidel Castro is endorsing Obama and that you should "vote right now for John McCain" to spite Castro. This was a robocall that just started going out to Cubans in Miami - talk about late campaigning. Oh, and it's not some generic PAC doing it. That's an official McCain/Palin call. You stay classy, Wasilla.

3:01 - POLLS CLOSE! Some polls have closed in parts of Indiana and... somewhere else. Missed it. We're waiting for the first batch of poll results. EXIT POLLS~! Here's the big one. Economy. 93 percent say the economy is "not so good" or "poor." 70 percent believe Obama will raise their taxes. 61 on McCain. That didn't show us much. Kentucky is the other place where some polls closed. Less than an hour for more polls to close! Awww yeah. It's getting exciting now!

3:23 - Kentucky is 61 to 37 for McCain with 0% reporting for 8 electoral votes. The first state to start reporting.

4:07 - Had some cable trouble. Figures, right? So, apparently Kentucky's been called for McCain and Vermont to Obama to put us at 8-3 so far. Anderson Cooper has taken over now and has the full panel with him. They're talking about the Senate races right now. They're also showing McCain up in Indiana at this point but haven't called it.

4:14 - They've got Obama up by one point in Indiana with 7 percent in. McCain's up by 11 points in Virginia with 1 percent in. Those are both pretty important battleground states.

4:16 - WHAT. THE. FUCK. They have some chick in the studio via hologram. It's fucking weird. Just when I thought the Magic Wall and the floating pie chart of doom was bad enough - this takes the cake. This is on the level of Celine Dion doing a duet with Elvis on Idol.

4:!9 - McCain 8 - Obama 3. McCain up by 8 in Florida with 0 percent in. Indiana is back in McCain's column by 1 point with 9 percent in.

4:21 - The Indiana gov race is over and the Republican won big. I have to think that's a bad sign for Obama's chances there. Obama closes Virginia to 6 points with 2 percent in.

4:24 - Florida - 8 point lead for McCain with 0 percent in. Virginia - 7 point lead for McCain with 2 percent in. Indiana - McCain with a 3 point lead with 12 percent in. Bad news so far but "it's still early." The Magic Wall says only rural areas in Virginia have reported anything so far. They're looking at Indiana 4 years ago which was mostly red - so far that's changing so there's hope. The Magic Wall says Obama is running stronger than Kerry in Indiana so far.

4:30 - Virginia is back to 8 points with 3 percent reporting. North Carolina, Ohio, and West Virginia are closing their polls right now. Two of those are very big. Florida - Obama has pulled out to a 14 point lead with 1 percent reporting. Virginia - McCain is up 12 points now with 3 percent in. Mccain has pulled back out to 5 points in Indiana with 14 percent responding. Of course, now they noticed that Florida's numbers don't add up so they're checking.

4:38 - North Carolina - Obama up by 3 points with 0 percent reporting. Florida - Obama up by 14 with 2 percent reporting. Indiana - McCain up by 3 points with 19 percent reporting, a 17,000 vote difference. Obama leading by 3 points on the nationwide popular vote with 1 percent reporting.

4:44 -
Florida - Obama up 10 points with 4 percent reporting
North Carolina - Obama up 1 point with 0 percent reporting
Indiana - McCain up 3 points with 21 percent reporting
Georgia - McCain up 41 points with 1 percent reporting
So, some mixed news there. They're showing the big event that Obama has planned at Grant Park in Chicago right now. I read that they hired the organizers for Lollapalooza at the same venue to plan it. I sure hope they have something to celebrate tonight. 15 more states are about to have their polls close as well. Anderson Cooper is putting over how awesome the hologram thing was - riiiiight.

4:51 - I've gotta admit. CNN is awesome for leaving the crawl up during commercials. I'm not getting much out of it being in HD but at least there's that. Weird thing is that when a local commercial comes on, the crawl drops out. Lame.

4:54
Less than 7 minutes for another 16 polls to close. MAGIC WALL~! Indiana is up to 26 percent reporting. Obama is taking more areas than Kerry did by far but will it be enough? He's also outperforming Kerry in areas he's losing. South Carolina just got projected for McCain even though Obama is leading by 11 points. That means...

John McCain - 16 Electoral Votes to Barack Obama - 3 Electoral Votes

4:58 - 2 minutes til more polls close. Wolf says there will be projections almost immediately on some of these. IT'S SO EXCITING! 90 seconds! They're discussing how they can call SC when Obama is leading. It's all off exit polls. Back to Wolf... 3...2... 1...PROJECTIONS! CNN calls Mass, Illinois, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, and DC for Obama. Good grief. They call Oklahoma and Tennessee for McCain. When all is said and done...

Barack Obama - 77 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 34 Electoral Votes

5:02 - I can't believe how many projections they do just off exit polls. Unbelievable. Back to exit poll info. McCain got 71 percent of white votes in SC. 84 percent from evangelicals. Shocker, I know. They haven't called any Senate races yet that I know of. The chart still shows the Dems with a 41-27 lead in the Senate.

Florida - Obama up by 10 with 17 percent reporting
Virginia - McCain up by 13 with 19 percent in
NC - Obama up by 24 points with 2 percent in

5:12
Okay... how can I not put this in here?

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

5:14
Ohio - Obama up by 37 points with 1 percent reporting
West Virginia - Obama up by 13 points with 0 percent reporting
Georgia - McCain up by 27 points with 4 percent reporting
NH - Obama up by 15 points with 5 percent reporting

5:18
Florida - Obama up by 6 points with 30 percent in
NC - Obama up by 17 points with 5 percent in
Indiana - McCain up by 3 points with 35 percent in
Virginia - McCain up by 13 points with 28 percent in
Wow, Obama's chief campaign strategist is being interviewed. He's got a vicious combover and really kills the vision of Obama having all these young, hip, stylish people guiding him through the campaign. Wait. I was the only one who had that vision? Fuck.

5:30
PROJECTION!
New Hampshire goes to Obama with 4 electoral votes

Barack Obama - 81 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 34 Electoral Votes

Some Senate updates - Dems pick up Virginia, getting close in Kentucky, winning big in NC so far, winning nicely in NH right now as well. It's looking good so far. Keep your fingers crossed.

5:40
PROJECTION!
OBAMA TAKES PENNSYLVANIA!
So, the last ditch effort to snag Pennsylvania by the Republicans didn't pan out. And I'm pretty sure it was the state that McCain supporters were saying they HAD to win to stand a chance.

Barack Obama - 102 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 34 Electoral Votes

Whoa. There's a big gathering of people in Times Square watching the results come in. That's so awesome.

5:50 - The Senate chart shows 47 for the Dems and 30 for the Repubs. There's still hope there too. The panel says paths to victory for McCain are running low.

PROJECTION!
HAHA! That psycho nutjob Elizabeth Dole just got knocked out of her Senate seat. Who's "godless" now, bitch?

5:55 - 5 minutes to go for another big batch of states' polls to close.

5:58 - McCain takes Alabama even though he's currently losing.

Barack Obama - 102 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 43 Electoral Votes

More projections coming in one minute!

6:00
PROJECTIONS!
Obama takes Rhode Island, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, New York
McCain takes Wyoming and North Dakota

Barack Obama - 174 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 49 Electoral Votes

6:13
McCain takes Georgia
Barack Obama - 174 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 64 Electoral Votes

6:21
Senate checks in at 52 to 35. Now the Dems need 8 out of 13 seats to get the 60.

6:23
PROJECTION!
McCain takes West Virginia

Barack Obama - 174 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 69 Electoral Votes

6:34
PROJECTION!
Obama takes Ohio! That's a big one! With 20 more votes, that takes the magic number down to 76.

Barack Obama - 194 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 69 Electoral Votes

6:35 - There's never been a Republican to win the White House without winning Ohio. That's a good sign. It's a stark contrast when they go between the two campaigns' events for tonight. While Obama's event has packed thousands into this huge park with this massive stage, McCain's in a small ballroom in Arizona where we've seen the Phoenix Boys Choir and Hank Williams Jr. perform.

6:43
Senate Update - The Republicans pick up another one. 52 to 36. That window is growing narrow.

6:48
Obams takes New Mexico, McCain takes Louisiana
Barack Obama - 199 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 78 Electoral Votes

6:53
They just showed the popular vote and discussed it. Very close right now. I'd imagine the West Coast should put some distance between the two - I hope anyways. The last thing the Dems want is an Electoral win but a popular loss. I don't think that's likely to happen but even if it's close...

7:00
PROJECTIONS!
Obama takes Iowa, McCain takes Utah and Kansas
Barack Obama - 206 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 89 Electoral Votes
Senate Update - 54 to 36 - a crack in the window. They need to take 6 of the last 10.

7:11
PROJECTION!
McCain takes Arkansas
Barack Obama - 207 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 95 Electoral Votes

7:19
PROJECTION!
McCain takes Texas
Barack Obama - 207 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 129 Electoral Votes
That's a big one but unless California somehow flew off the handle - we should be safe.

7:24
PROJECTION!
McCain takes Mississippi
Barack Obama - 207 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 135 Electoral Votes

7:58
PROJECTION!
Obama takes Virginia!
Barack Obama - 220 Electoral Votes to John McCain - 135 Electoral Votes

Here comes the closing of the CA polls. This should do it.

8:00
PROJECTION!
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
OBAMA WINS! OBAMA WINS! OBAMA WINS!

8:12
There was a lot of talk this morning about the full page ad that CNN took out in the NY Times today. I thought it was amazingly awesome and wanted to share it in this fantastic moment.

There is a moment, a simple moment, before history gets recorded.
Before it goes in the books.
Before it appears as a question on a game show.
Or on a midterm exam.
A moment right before the headline is written.
There is a moment when history lives in the present.
When we can watch it unfold in real time, right before our eyes.
And we can all assume our place in it.
Some people live for history.
We live for the moment just before.

8:20
McCain coming out to concede... to the music from Days Of Thunder. That's a WTF?! moment.

8:30
McCain leaves to the Crimson Tide theme. Someone bought the Bruckheimer soundtrack boxset for Halloween.

8:50
Awesome post at the LAist

Other than elementary schools, it seems like all of our nation's polling places are in church halls. Is this a violation of church and state? Is it Christian hubris?

On one level it is insulting to people of other faiths who may not feel comfortable in such close proximity to Jesus. How would many of these Christians feel if they had to go vote inside a Wiccan circle? Or at the Church of Satan?

But there is also a part of me that loves it. A part of me says, "Suck it, right-wing Christians! I just voted for sodomy and killing babies! In your face!!!"

9:17
Wow.

10:38
With the champagne [Prosecco actually] bottle empty and the stark reality that it doesn't look like the Dems will be able to snag the 60 seats in the Senate, let's take a look at one of the last issues that I actually give a damn about.

With 32 percent reporting in California, Prop 8 is winning - that's bad for those who can't keep it straight [no pun intended.] Yes On 8 has a six point lead. It's not over yet! Keep the faith, my friends. CNN's exit polls look pretty good for those of us rooting the other direction.

11:18
Man, post-victory election coverage can be a real downer. It feels like CNN has spent the last two hours running down all the reasons why Obama will be a failure. I'm glad I drank or I'd probably be really pissed off.

By the way, with 41 percent reporting, Yes On 8's lead is down to four points. We're getting closer!

The horrible thing is that similar propositions have passed in Arizona and Florida tonight as well as an absolutely despicable measure in Arkansas that banned gay couples from adopting children. On a night where we all should be very proud to be Americans, there have been some measures passed tonight that really make me disgusted to be a part of this society.

11:48
So, Alaska's criminal Senator is currently winning his race.

...

Tells you a lot about Alaska's taste in politicians, eh? You betcha. Anyone else feel nauseous when they were talking about Palin being the "front-runner" for the Republican nominee for 2012? I just can't believe someone can say that with a straight face but with her appeal to the conservative base, if they can enough "popular" conservative issues [gay marriage, abortion, etc.] on swing states, anything can happen.

Speaking of gay marriage, with 49 percent of precincts reporting, Yes On 8 is up by six points again. As I did a little digging to see which counties had already reported in large amounts, I started to get a little nervous. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be surprised if this passes tonight - sickened, annoyed, embarrassed, outraged, and more... but not surprised. This is one of those "hope for the best but prepare for the worst" moments, I think.

11:56
Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper are signing off for the night - I think I'm about to as well. I'll probably keep the TV on until I fall asleep to see if I can catch any more details but they don't expect to have final results on the Senate races until tomorrow or later at this point. Prop 8 will probably come in in the next hour or two but since I'm working tomorrow, I think I'll bow out of my election reporting.

It's been a lot of fun watching all of this unfold and I'm beyond ecstatic that the candidate I've supported and talked up for so long now has won the highest office in the land. I'm disappointed by some of the other outcomes - the apparent failure to gain 60 Senate seats, the sickening message sent by some of the American public regarding gay marriage and gay adoption, a few others come to mind as well. But on the whole, I have to be optimistic for the future. I have to have hope and faith that the candidate I put my support behind can make the change he has promised for so long.

I hope you all got out and voted today. No matter who you voted for, I hope you went out and exercised your right and, quite frankly, your duty as an American. It was an awesome day for all of us - a historic day that few of us are likely to forget anytime soon.

That's right. JOE THE PLUMBER GOT OWNED!

...

Oh yeah, that Obama guy won too.

Yes we can? Yes we did.

The Official You're My Boy, Blue! Voters Guide Part 4

And then there was one.

This is it. The big one. Potentially the biggest Presidential election of my life so far. The chance to attempt to undo the damage done over the past eight years.

I know who I'm voting for and have for quite some time. Four years to be precise.

I know who I'm voting for - do you?

As someone who very recently went through an extended period of unemployment and now watches several other friends battle to find a decent job or keep their current job, I know who I'm voting for.

As a (relative) newlywed who hopes to someday save enough money to move out of an apartment and into a house - and hopefully not have to profit from someone else not being able to afford their house - I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who hopes to start a family in the near future, a family that will need good health care, strong education, clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, safe streets to walk, I know who I'm voting for.

As a nephew, son, and grandson who recently had to watch an anguished family go through the horrors of the American medical system, only to face a future of financial strain to keep my grandmother in an Assisted Living complex, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who supported the War in Iraq when it started because of lies and half-truths fed to the American people by corrupt and short-sighted politicians and is desperate to see a day when America doesn't have to send their future off to another land to die for oil, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who pays far too much for gas and worries about the irreversible damage we're doing to our own environment every day, surrounded by people apathetic to the same, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who has traveled abroad and seen firsthand the disdain the world now holds America in, who has watched our country's leaders throw away our allies' respect, who has seen our reputation soiled around the globe, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone not afraid of right-wing mudslinging tactics like Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayres, and an illegal immigrant of an aunt, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who thinks the phrase "redistribution of wealth" doesn't scare me a single bit nor do the cries of "Socialist!", I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who has never felt the fires of hope, of inspiration, of faith stoked by a Presidential candidate before, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who believes we are on the verge of something very special, an era that Americans will someday look back on with amazement and wonder, I know who I'm voting for.

As someone who believes we are less than 24 hours away from one of the greatest moments in our nation's history, I know who I'm voting for.

I know who I'm voting for. I know who you SHOULD BE voting for.

It's time for change. It's time for hope. And it's time to show the masses that "hope" in politics shouldn't be treated like a four-letter word.

Now all that's left is to wait.

Tomorrow's going to be a long day. My fingers are crossed.

The Official You're My Boy, Blue! Voters Guide Part 3

While on our trip last week, we were startled by the number of "Yes On 8" signs throughout the Central California area - all through the "farm" areas on the way up to Mountain View. We even saw them as far South as Camarillo with a group of supporters waving banners on the corner - an event that I decided should be labeled "Bigotry In Motion."

Those signs have become quite the eyesore throughout Southern California as well as I see them every day on my way to work. But I do find their yellow color to be quite appropriate considering the amount of cowardice the proposition is draped in. Pure and simple cowardice.

This is the one that makes my blood boil - it really does. Ever since a month or two ago when I came home to find a flyer on our front door for it. The front filled with smiling, happy couples and families. The back with the kind of hate-filled bigotry that makes people hate organized religion with the fire of a thousand suns.

"Let's Restore and Protect Marriage once and for all."

Yeah? Maybe we should start by banning divorce then. That seems like a pretty good way to "protect" marriage, huh?

Of course, the Mormon church has bankrolled a large portion of this campaign, desperately trying to make it illegal for a man to marry a man. Perhaps they'd find it better if the man could marry many men instead.

On this blog in the past, I've talked about "emotional blackmail." And this is filled with that.

"Proposition 8 protects our children..."

Wow.

The amount of hubris in that statement alone is mind-boggling.

Everyone see the commercials where they showed the school children who were taken to see their teacher, a lesbian, get married on a field trip? This is the Yes On 8's dream come true - shoving everyone's face in the "fact" that the kids are going to be taught about gay marriage. They ignore the fact that the kids' parents would have had to sign permission slips to attend the trip. They ignore the fact that they can still talk to their kids about what marriage is and isn't to them according to their beliefs.

But it also means they have to teach them about the real world - not the fictional world they live in where everyone believes what they believe. They'll have to teach their kids that it's okay to be different and to believe differently than the next person. It's okay to have different opinions about different subjects.

And yes, it's okay to marry someone of the same sex if someone is inclined to do so.

Of course, this all comes back to religion. They can dance around it all they want by talking about "traditional values" and children and all the like but when it comes down to it, someone with the literary credentials no greater than Dr. Seuss wrote on a piece of paper hundreds of years ago that homosexuality is an "abomination" - and so it goes.

I'm all over the place on this one because it makes me so angry, I can't write rationally about it. But in the end, to me, it comes down to this...

The United States had laws on the books that made interracial marriage illegal until 1967. As someone who is a part of an interracial marriage, that concerns me.

Why, you ask? I mean, obviously things could never go backwards in such a way, could they?

There's a poem by Pastor Martin Nimemoller that often gets brought up in discussions about Nazi Germany and the Holocaust called "First they came..."

"In Germany, they came first for the Communists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist;

And then they came for the trade unionists, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist;

And then they came for the Jews, And I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew;

And then . . . they came for me . . . And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

And I think that sums things up better than I could.

The Official You're My Boy, Blue! Voters Guide Part 2

I decided that Prop 8 and the President deserves separate posts. So, we'll skip them for now and continue on...

PROP 9: Criminal Justice System Victims' Rights, Parole, Etc.
Man, there's a lot of these types of props this year. In fact, there's more props on the ballot this year than I can remember in ages. This one wants to add (seemingly) redundant laws that are already in place. It seems like a bad idea in a weak economy to spend money on something that we already have.

VOTE: NO on Prop 9

PROP 10: Alternative Fuel Vehicles And Renewable Energy Bonds
Another clean energy prop. This one, at least, seems legit. Thank God. I feel better being able to vote for one of them.

VOTE: YES on PROP 10

PROP 11: Redistricting
Redistricting is an ugly word in politics because it usually means one party or the other is trying to figure out a way to take advantage of the ethnic/economic makeup of an area to get more votes. The Democratic Party mailer calls it a "right-wing power grab" - sounds about right.

VOTE: NO on PROP 11

PROP 12: Veterans' Bond Act Of 2008
Low-interest home buying rates for veterans? I'm in. It's the least we can do for continuing to send them off to fight in pointless wars.

VOTE: YES on PROP 12

The Official You're My Boy, Blue! Voters Guide Part 1

Well, I guess my old statements about not turning this into a political blog kinda flew out the window, huh? I just can't help it. This election has seemingly turned into such a turning point for our country, I haven't been able to resist trying to get some of you to think long and hard about who and what you're voting for. I'm not trying to change your minds - well, maybe some of you - but I want you to consider carefully your choices before going to the polls tomorrow.

Now, I'm not one to tell you how to vote but... well...

I'm about to tell you how to vote. Or at very minimum, I'm about to tell you how I intend to vote and why. Maybe it'll help "light the path" for some of you or at least make you think. That's all I can ask.

So, let's dive headfirst into the Official Voter Information Guide and see what we can see.

I'll skip all the local and state offices for your benefit and stick to national candidates and the state propositions.

Prop 1 - High Speed Rail Bonds Legislative Initiative Amendment
Basically, they finally want to build that high-speed train from LA to San Francisco with the promise to add on to it later to go to other major cities. Sounds like a winner, right? While it's a tough time to add so much debt to the state's budget, there's likely not to be a better time any time soon to start up this much-needed project. I'm in!

VOTE: YES on PROP 1

Prop 2: Standards For Confining Farm Animals
Okay... the way I read this is that it'll force farms to allow their caged animals room to stand up, lie down, stretch their wings or limbs, etc. I'm all for humane treatment of animals but you have to admit, it sounds a little silly on paper. The Humane Society backs it as does the Sierra Club. A little digging makes me think it actually doesn't go far enough as it calls for "exceptions" for rodeos, fairs, 4-H Clubs, etc. The arguments against are pretty strong - but I don't know how much I believe them.

VOTE: YES on PROP 2

PROP 3: Children's Hospital Bond Act
Seriously - I may be a sap but how can you vote down money for childrens' hospitals no matter how shitty the economy is?

VOTE: YES on PROP 3

PROP 4: Waiting Period And Parental Notification Before Termination Of A Minor's Pregnancy
Also known as, "Hey, this'll get Republicans to the polls!" I hate abortion propositions - especially stuff involving minors. It's a horrible topic to have to think about. This one is particularly tricky as it basically requires parental notification for a minor to have an abortion and it SEEMS to have all the bases covered if the minor is in a bad family situation. Some argue that it's a "stepping stone" law looking to put a foot hold towards eliminating a woman's right to choose altogether. The Democratic Party mailer tells us to vote No but I'm having a hard time justifying that. I don't understand exactly why a minor can have a major medical procedure without permission anyways. But the concern of "back alley abortions" and all that is very real as well. Arrrrgh. I found a research report that shows that these kinds of law have very little effect on teenage pregnancies and the amount of parental notifications. I guess if it ain't broke, why fix it? I'm unsure on this one still but for now...

VOTE: NO on PROP 4

PROP 5: Nonviolent Drug Offenses, Sentencing, Parole, and Rehabilitation
The gist of this one is to increase the amount of criminals put into drug rehab instead of prison. It has pages and pages of details about parole and sentencing too. This is another difficult one for me because I really do support treatment over incarceration. Buuuuuuut... this one sounds like it may be going too far. I'm going to trust the parade of people coming out against it like Feinstein and Gray Davis.

VOTE: NO on PROP 5

PROP 6: Police And Law Enforcement Funding
This one looks like a lot of smoke and mirrors about fighting crime but really lacks the details to convince me.

VOTE: NO on PROP 6

PROP 7: Renewable Energy Generation
I never thought I'd vote against a law that requires more renewable energy but the list of groups opposing this one is staggering. How many propositions have you seen that has both the Democrats AND the Republicans against it?

VOTE: NO on PROP 7

A Bridge School Clip

We haven't gotten around to our joint review of last week's show yet but in the meantime...

Random Thoughts On Random Stuff

Disney Trying To Get Wall-E A Best Picture Nod
How awesome is that? Wall-E really was one of my favorite movies of the year and I really would love to see it get the accolades. BUT... that being said, two things really hurt it. 1) Being released so early in the year really hurts movies aiming for award season and 2) That damned Best Animated Feature award. It makes it far too easy to just give a great animated flick that nod and not consider it for anything else. I'd love to see it but I don't see it likely.

Neil Young Cancels Concert Rather Than Cross Picket Line
Uncle Neil canceled his shows at the former Fabulous Forum this week because of an ongoing labor dispute between owners of the venue and a union. It's the same reason Springsteen opted not to play the Forum on his last trip through. Now, I'm all in favor of showing support for labor unions that you think deserve your support but my problem with this is - really? You just found out about that? Obviously, Bruce knew to pick a different venue in advance. It's just shitty for fans to get the hose because somehow Neil and Pegi didn't do their research.

EW Says Terence Howard Screwed Terence Howard
So, the big scoop is that Howard was the highest paid actor on Iron Man.

...

HUH?! That can't be true, can it? Anyways, they go on to say Favreau didn't like his performance and had to cut the hell out of it. Basically, they decided that Howard wasn't worth the money and that Don Cheadle will be. Let's hope they're right.

"The Book Of Eli"
A lot of talk this week about this post-apocalyptic Western in the works starring Gary Oldman and Denzel Washington. The plot is summed up with, "Washington’s lone warrior, Eli, fights to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its survival and redemption. Surprise — it’s a book. Oldman will play the despot of a small and pathetic town, who’s determined to get ahold of Eli’s book." Sounds like a winner, no?

REALLY Behind The Orange Curtain
Eh. Maybe not ALL hope is lost for Orange County.

We Want Serpentor!

It's been a long, long while since I've covered any GI Joe stuff on here. I stumbled upon something tonight that I thought might be worth sharing.

The producer, Lorenzo di Bonaventura says, "We are in post-production, and it’s looking really good. It’s going to be really fun, and it’s going to be big.”

Uh huh. The "it's going to be big" concerns me a little as it tends to be code for "We cut out a lot of the story but we make things blow up a lot!"

He continues with, "There is going to be two or three really large sequences in it that are really going to blow people away. But I think that, more than anything, what differentiates it from a lot of these big movies is that there are eight or nine very well-drawn characters.”

Hrm. That's one of those statements that sounds good to the hardcore fan but it's also one of those statements that producers/directors nervous about alienating the hardcore fan know to say.

Of course, there's also the usual chitchat about the Snakes/Storm Shadow relationship playing a key role in the movie. I really hope that's legit cause if it's not, the movie will have to succeed without the geeks [and yes, I include myself in that.]

And the final suckup comment?

“I think the core fan base that read the comic book and watched the animated shows are going to feel like we really honored their experience."

Welp. We'll know in about seven months or so.

Yeaaaaah - That Sounds About Right

Dodgers Player Jeff Kent Donates $15K to Support Prop 8

I Really Have Nothing To Say...

...but we watched a several week episode of How I Met Your Mother tonight - the one where Stella tries to get Ted to move to Jersey.

And I just have to say... just when I thought it was impossible for that show to be any cooler... first, they mention Bruce Springsteen.

AND THEN THEY PLAY SPRINGSTEEN!

AND NOT JUST ANY SPRINGSTEEN BUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE SPRINGSTEEN SONGS! Simple awesome.

One last stop!

Awwwww yeah!

Stop 19

The 18th green at Pebble Beach

Stop 17

Stop 16

Whoops!

Stop 14

Stop 13

We skipped a couple that were right next to the last one. This one is
cool cause I can feel the ocean spray.

Stop 10

Stop 9 wasn't marked and we missed it!

Stop 8

Stop 7

Stop 6

Stop 4 aorta

Stop 5

Somehow we missed 4

Stop 3

Stop 2

Stop #1 on the 17 Mile Drive

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

Monterey

Went to the Monterey Aquarium today. It was amazing and made us feel
a little guilty about going to a seafood place for dinner.

Our hotel is on the beach and we can see/hear the ocean from our
room. Very cool.

I'm going to have the Missus put up a few of the photos she took on
her iPhone today in a bit. Stay tuned.

Sent from my iPhone

Next up on Idol Gives Back

Josh Groban rocks out with his cock out - Simon & Garfunkel style

Flashback party

Death Cab rocked it as they always do. Surprisingly, the Pumpkins are
next which means there's a stretch of Josh Groban, Norah Jones, and
Jack Johnson before Neil comes back out to close. It also means odds
are high someone will fall asleep before then.

Sent from my iPhone

The heat! My god, the heat!

Okay, I think it's finally starting to cool down. Cat Power was
okay. Wilco was pretty cool - made me want to see them in a smaller
venue. Death Cab is up next.

Show on!

Neil just took the stage. It's incredibly hot so we'll see about
liveblogging.

The Dude Abides!

In Mountain View. Off to the show!

Chinese Food, Bad Service, & Small Town Racism

Tommy's Wok was amazing! I quite honestly think it was the best Chinese food I've ever had in my life. We had the Crab Cheese Puffs for an appetizer. Those are a common appetizer that you see at almost every Chinese food place - even the fast food places like Panda Express - but these were bar none the best I've ever had. We followed that up with the Tommy's Chow Mein and the Sesame Beef. The Chow Mein had chicken, BBQ Pork, and shrimp in it - all of which were amazing. But the crown jewel of the meal was the Sesame Beef. The perfect amount of breading, not overly saucy, and just the right hint of spice - I'm drooling right now thinking about it. Luckily, we had a small box of leftovers for later. So, obviously, I thought the food was awesome. The service was lacking a bit as there was only one server for the whole place. But since the place is on the small side to begin with, I guess can understand why. Super friendly staff though and I highly recommend this place to anyone who happens to be in Carmel.

With plenty of time to go in the UFC show, we crossed the parking lot over to Ody's - a local bar that had a review on Yelp that a] mentioned they show UFC shows and b] likened it to the Regal Beagle - two requirements for an amazing bar. We walked in to find a pretty light crowd and took a side table away from the bar. Again, a very small place not much larger than our living room. It's a far cry from the typical sprawling Orange County bar. I didn't see much that reminded me of the Regal Beagle so I was a little disappointed in that though. We got quick service as we settled in to watch the Clementi/Maynard fight. Some nice slams in that one to get some people in the crowd buzzing.

There was a high level of intoxication in the air as some guy at the bar drunkenly slurred to me about if we were there to see "Anderson Silva against that other guy in the Main Event." I said we were which apparently made me the bar's MMA expert as every once in a while, he'd shout a question in my direction. At the other end of the bar, a group of older former veterans were screaming about Obama being a socialist - a conversation that made us laugh because we had discussed the whole socialism debate at dinner. Oh, and they later started marching in place shouting cadence - a good time had by all.

But my favorite by far was the little old man about ten feet away taking photos with his iPhone. The female bartender shouted at him, asking what he was doing and if he had remembered what she told him. Apparently the week prior, he was "taking photos of her tits and ass" and had been warned that if he did it again, he was going to be kicked out. She actually sent another bartender over at one point to check his phone to see what he was taking photos of. She was quite spunky as she got attitude with several customers throughout the night. One of the benefits of a small town, I guess, is that you know the customers have no other place to go and will always come back so you can do whatever you want. It's like the opposite of an Orange County bar where the bartenders can afford to be rude because they know there's always someone coming to replace you soon enough.

The Koscheck/Alves fight brought some cheers from the crowd for the brutal kicks of Alves. Lots of cheers for Koscheck which made me a little nauseous. I did enjoy a really drunk guy yelling, "He's a soldier! He's a soldier!" when Koscheck didn't crumple like a bitch from the beating he was taking. I was glad to see Alves take the win but the lack of a KO disappointed me.

Oh, and I was still on my first drink even though it was sitting empty on the table. I didn't care that much or I would have just gone to the bar but I did find it kind of odd that the bartender wasn't coming back to see if we wanted anything else. Again, only two servers for the whole place though.

Did I mention they had a Wii hooked up to the TV too? That seemed absolutely brilliant to me. Imagine a bunch of drunk guys playing Wii Sports? Pure comedic gold.

So, the Silva match comes on. The people with the slightest bit of MMA knowledge seemed to be very solidly behind Silva but the others... For a long time, there's been live reports from UFC shows saying that non-white fighters got lower amounts of support than white fighters at the shows. The writers always implied that there was a very clear level of racism present at the shows. I never really saw it because I don't watch many shows with the "unwashed masses" but now that I have, I understand it a little better. There were quite a few comments about "I'm rooting for the white guy!" although they were a little uncomfortable with Cote getting kisses from his corner - not surprising considering all the "Yes On 8" signs I've seen up here.

Anyways... it was a little uncomfortable to hear how angry some of them were at Silva, especially when he started showboating a bit. "Kill that arrogant fucker!" is a comment that comes to mind. I think these guys would've fit in well at a McCain/Palin rally actually.

The finish was deflating for the whole bar - and the bartender made it worse by running around implying that Cote was faking it because he was "being a bitch." Eh... whatever. I would've obviously preferred a finish but we paid our bill and were on our way [oh yeah, they finally brought me a second drink] - sixteen bucks for two Jack and Cokes - YIKES!

Some crazy fog on the way back to the hotel but we made it. We're already running late this morning because the Missus is feeling a little under the weather but we've got to get going soon to make it to the concert by 2 PM. On the way up, we decided we're going to do a joint review of the show when we get home but until then, I'll probably still do a little bit of liveblogging at the concert.

I know you're excited for that!

Tommy's Wok

The Missus and I decided on a place in downtown Carmel for dinner
called Tommy's Wok. Yelp, my latest iPhone app said it's the best
Chinese in the area.

There are two doors into the place apparently. The first one we found
led directly into the dining room which is basically smaller than our
living room. There was no sign of a hostess so we bailed out to look
for another door. We found one on the other side of the building that
led into the kitchen - surprisingly this is the right door. You can
wait outside in the cold or inside in the kitchen. I picked the
former, she picked the latter and is now sniffing her hair.

While waiting I saw a review for a bar 15 feet away that apparently
shows UFC shows. Curse my luck. Well, I really only want to see
Silva fight so maybe I'll make it still.

Stay tuned!

Sent from my iPhone

Carmel

Arrived in Carmel finally. It's foggy and a little chilly. There's a
Mexican restaurant behind the hotel named "Hola!". You've gotta
respect a place that's "keepin' it real" enough to basically just
admit it's not "authentic" at all.

Check out the funky mood lighting on the headboard.

On The Road Again

Just a quick note to let you all know that the Missus and I are headed out of town this morning for the Bridge School show up in Mountain View. We're making stops on the way up and back so this is a little mini-vacation for us before the holidays arrive.

That being said, expect this blog to be a bit of a travel blog over the next few days. Lots of pictures and short posts, I'd imagine. But I may liveblog [sorta] between sets from the show thanks to the wonders of my new iPhone! Look forward to that, kiddies!

As always, I'll make my very best effort to at least spit out some random rambling every day.

Now someone find me a sports bar in Carmel so I can watch Anderson Silva!

Makeup, Please!

I tried to avoid jumping on the bandwagon for bashing the Republicans for their decision to clothe Sarah Palin and family. I tried to stay off this one because, quite frankly, the punchlines write themselves and even if they hadn't, every comedian, political commentator, and even some Joe The Plumbers have made their own.

But...

Well, I just couldn't resist this little gem.

The highest paid staff member on the McCain campaign is Sarah Palin's make-up artist, it emerged today, in a fresh blow to the vice-presidential candidate's image as an average "hockey mom".

Just as Mrs Palin was struggling to defend herself against criticism of her $150,000 wardrobe budget, it was revealed that Amy Strozzi, who once did makeup work on the television show "So You Think You Can Dance?", received $22,800 for the first two weeks of this month, more than the candidate's chief foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, according to a filing report.

She tried to dance away from the controversy with a "oh gosh, oh gee, not me" at a speech today claiming that her favorite clothing store is a secondhand clothing store called "Out Of The Closet."

...

Yep, you can write your own punchline for that one too.

Oh, Stephen Colbert had the best political joke of the week I've seen so far too. For your amusement...

It's No Sweet Child Of Mine But...

As a follow-up to the GNR post, here's the first song released. It's the title song off the new album "Chinese Democracy." Now to decide if it was worth the wait...



Thoughts?

More Than Meets The Eye?

Earlier this week, news broke that Universal was developing a Transformers attraction for both the Hollywood and Singapore parks. The news was met by initial apathy from me because I think the last the last time Universal made an effort to really put something special in the Hollywood park was Jurassic Park [although I haven't been to the park in years.]

But as the press release went on, it quickly sounded like this was no mere stunt show or small add-on to the Tram Ride or any number of "quick-fix" attractions that Universal Hollywood is known for. This sounded like a serious effort to put a high-dollar, high-entertainment attraction in the park. So, I was cautiously enthused by the announcement and started wondering if Universal putting big money into Transformers and Harry Potter [in Florida] would drive the Mouse to step up their game as well.

I remain enthused - but I had to share Michael Bay's thoughts on the project because... well, he's a jackass. An incredibly rich jackass but a jackass nonetheless. Take a look...

The Transformer Ride at Universal making all the press rounds - not sure yet - they had me in a press release saying I supported it - but Universal has a long way to go in my mind. I don't support it - I'm not involved and not sure the story of the ride works, and I know Optimus is not going to just show up to be directed by some new people that have never worked with him. I hate when people bullsh*t a quote from me that I never said.

I'll keep you informed. Maybe the guy making the rides at Universal will direct Transformers 3????

It's an amazing thing to see someone who is pretty much treated as a punchline to most "bad director" jokes take himself so seriously.

But hey, he's rich and making a movie that I'd gladly kill him to have the chance to make so I guess I have little ground to stand on.

Manny Watch: DAY 9

I talked about it a little bit last night but this morning, according to this article, the Dodgers have made a two year, 60 million dollar offer to the big slugger.

Wow.

That's a lot of dollars, no?

The NY Post reporters in the article listed above speculate the Dodgers know there's no chance in hell that Satan Boras will accept such a deal and that's simply a PR offer so the McCourts can shrug their shoulders and say "We made a fair offer" when Manny signs elsewhere.

It's possible but it's also possible they consider it a legit offer as we've seen them go high dollars/low years on several deals in the past few years [Furcal, Andruw Jones.] Whatever the situation is, I don't expect Manny/Boras to accept the offer as they'll definitely be shopping around to see how long of a deal they can land.

The plot thickens.

Oh, and another Dodgers note from that article, apparently Larry Bowa has yet to tell the team whether or not he'll be returning for next season. The Yankees have their eyes on him to fill their third base coach slot as well so he's got another job waiting in the wings. Personally, I hope they manage to keep him because I think he's one of the few guys left in the game that can provide some fire in the belly for a team and I still love him for calling out the team for their lack of heart back in September.

Random Stuff

Some thoughts on some stuff from my Google Reader...

Does Heroes Need Help?
I've made no secret that I think Heroes started off very badly this season. Once one of my favorite shows, it quickly turned into a show that I only watched out of habit and hope. The Missus has abandoned said hope with the horrible first couple of episodes from this season and hasn't come back to the fold yet. I'm of the opinion that the show has gotten better in the past couple of weeks and while it hasn't returned to the list of my favs, I don't dread watching it for the time being.



This would be considered the opposite of Heroes - a show that totally redeemed itself after some challenging periods and has once again become the number one show on my list of most anticipated and this quick teaser does little to whet that appetite. The shit be on.

Now, Harry from AICN called this the greatest thing he saw today. I have to agree - even with the awesome Lost teaser footage. Check it out.

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Double Dose Of Dodger Good News
Kim Ng lost out on the Seattle job. While I hate to celebrate the fact that she was unable to become baseball's first female GM, I have to be a little bit happy she remains in Dodgertown... for now. Also, early news says the Dodgers will be deep in the mix for Manny. Details are sketchy but it appears they'll go big on dollars if they can go short on years. Boras wants six. Reports are the Dodgers may look as low as two. I expect they'll meet in the middle when all is said and done. Expect either four guaranteed or three with a mutual option. Now, the dollars? That's another story. Early rumor says McCourt may be willing to cough up A-Rod type dollars if the years are right. That's a looooooooot of money. We'll find out soon enough.

Rays Come Back To Tie Series
A Philly fan at work tried to rub it in today that the Phillies were "one win closer to being World Champions." My legit, non-sarcastic response was: "What? The World Series started?" Who knew?

And that's that for now!

In Other News, PIGS HAVE WINGS!

It's the day that so many rock music fans have waited ages for - if you believe it.

Today, Guns N' Roses announced that Chinese Democracy will at long last be hitting "record stores" (how many of those still exist?) on November 23rd.

If it happens, this will be GNR's first new album release since 1991 when both Use Your Illusions were released in a shocking dual release. Apparently, they're jumping on the AC/DC bandwagon and going with an exclusive release - this one limited to only Best Buy stores. That kinda annoys me but I'm eager to hear the finished product.

Of course, I heard some of the songs when I saw them in concert a couple years ago but hearing the actual recordings will be the real test. I have to admit that I was stunned at how fun the concert I attended was so I'm really hoping the album lives up to that night.

And even more exciting is that you have to assume that they'll tour in support of the album... and I seem to recall someone who was too drunk to remember the show and made me spend the evening a] searching for him, b] carrying him to the car, c] watching him urinate all over the place, d] be very concerned he was going to vomit in my car... wait, where was I going with this?

Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure he said he was buying tickets for us the next time they come through!

Rock on, people.

Liveblog: The Shield (10-21-08)

Alright, alright... before I press play, let's clear the air. The Missus says I may have gone a little too far in my rant against Halloween last night and that I may have hurt some feelings in the process. Let's be clear that it wasn't my intention to hurt anyone's feelings. I was just being me. And me at that particular period of time wanted to discuss how I'm sooooooo sick of everyone at work gushing over Halloween, I just had to rant about it for a bit. I'm not a fan of the holiday - if you are, rock on and more power to ya. Oh, and for future reference, I probably shouldn't write after getting out of bed because I get cranky.

In summation, if you felt stung by my words from last night, I apologize.

Now, for tonight's words of wisdom, let's stick with something a little less controversial - The Shield. I've made no bones about the fact that I think The Shield is the best show on TV right now and I've been super-stoked about tonight's episode. Between bad days at work, my family situation, the Dodgers, and all that jazz, I've really had a pretty shitty week and I'm hopeful tonight's episode of The Shield will knock me off my feet and make things all better.

Thus? A liveblog!

10:00 - VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED! Hell yes it is.

10:01 - Previously On The Shield - Bad, bad shit went down to set up tonight's episode that looks like even more bad shit is going to go down. This is gonna rock. ROCK!

10:02: Shane has gloves on and a gun in hand. Uh oh. Bad combo. He looks quite anguished. Maybe killing a second friend isn't easier than the first. He's plotting with the Missus, setting up an alibi for himself. Must be nice to have a spouse who'll cover for you killing someone.

10:05 - Mackey has to try to extort the closing of a church. "I wouldn't want to piss off Jesus along with everyone else." May be a little late for that, Vic.

10:06 - Someone takes a shot at Ronnie! Is that Shane? Nope. Shane's hanging out in Vic's apartment, ready to blow his best friend away. Whoops! Ronnie called Vic just before Vic walked into the waiting trap. Shane's plan got FUCKED! Cue the Opening Credits! Two attempts to kill cops before the credits? This show rules.

10:12 - Vic and Ronnie figure out that Shane's involved. That didn't take long. Ronnie says he's going to find the guy himself - but he looks pretty pissed when he tells Vic to take off. Anyone getting the feeling that Ronnie's going to play the key role in ths finish of this show?

10:16 - God damn, that hooker's ugly. Someone would actually pay for that?

10:18 - Hey! The priest that Vic went to talk to is that guy who played Haywire on Prison Break. I just can't take him seriously as a priest after seeing him on PB.

10:21 - Pezuela offers to help make Aceveda mayor with the help of the Blackmail Box. "I've got leverage you can't begin to understand." Wouldn't be sore sure about that.

10:24 - Rookie cop nails Two-Man, Shane asks nervously, "Hey, is he, uh, talking yet?" Dutch and Billings get first crack at him. That should be interesting.

10:31 - Oh jeez. Shane snuck into the interrogation room to try and find out where the gun is. What an idiot. Claudette spotted him too. And saw that he turned off the camera.

10:33 - Vic trying to get the Feds to let him work with them undercover. Awesome! Aceveda is in to talk to ICS too! A spinoff with Vic and Aceveda as buddy cops would be almost as cool as the Sylar/HRG buddy cop spinoff idea. Vic tells Aceveda, "Don't worry. Pezuela wants you taken out, I'm the one he hires to do it." Now THAT would be a fun way to end the show. God, this rules. Vic Mackey is one of my favorite all-time TV characters.

10:44 - Ronnie catches Shane trying to give hand signals to Two-Man. Ohhh my. This should be fun. OHHHH SNAP! The guy is gonna spill it! Two-Man is ratting him out! Shane's trying to run for it! Shane's in the parking lot! RONNIE AND VIC ARE GOING AFTER HIM! JULIAN TOO! SHANE'S PEELING OUT OF THE PARKING LOT! OHHHH SHIT! Too late! He's gone!

10:52 - Shane's wife goes to see Vic's ex. Shit be goin' down now. Ohhh shit! She's telling Corinne about Terry, about the Money Train... ohhhh damn.

10:55 - Corinne confronts Vic. Holy shit. Good scene. She says she'll help Vic one last time and then her and the kids are out of Vic's life forever. That's "the price he has to pay."

10:59 - AHHHHHH! VIC QUIT! He told Claudette to "kis his ass." Two guesses where he's going and who he's going after. Claudette threatened to lock "his corrupt ass up" if he interferes in the Shane search. Vic turned in his gun. Holy shit. He's done! I can't believe it. I never thought he'd be out of the Barn before the season ended.

Next time on THE SHIELD...
Vic's on the rampage
Claudette's on the hunt
HOLY FUCK!
Either that was deceptive editing or Vic finds Shane next week! EEEEEEKS!

This is as close to some of those "oh fuck, how can I wait til next week?" feelings I've had since Lost.

Well, shit - that definitely made me feel better.

All I Wanted To Do Was Go To Sleep

I've been doing daily posts on here for quite a while now - several months at least. I've gotta say, it's not always easy.

I take plenty of grief from all y'all about "mailing it in" or just tossing up a YouTube vid instead of actually writing stuff every day but man, it gets tough. It's actually gotten even tougher since I started working in retail again. With the wonky hours, it takes a conscious effort to find time to write every day - let alone find something interesting to write about.

Tonight, I got home at 8:45ish, had dinner, watched some TV, and went to bed.

Which then prompted a "God dammit, I didn't blog yet."

So, I dragged myself out of bed to the computer to try and find something worth writing about.

...

Obviously, I had no luck.

Here's one for you...

What is the big deal about Halloween?

I think Halloween is actually my least favorite holiday - is it even really a holiday? I don't even know if I really liked it as a kid. I remember costumes I wore for Halloween but I don't remember if I actually wanted to wear them or if it was my family of females playing dress-up with a small human. And as I got older, I got more annoyed by the "holiday."

Apparently it's a big party night - who knew? The twenty-somethings around my work were all atwitter over the past couple weeks trying to position themselves to get that night off, discussing their costume options, all that jazz. I just don't get it. I suppose it's partially because Halloween is also apparently an occasion for most girls to dress super-slutty and "disguise" it as a costume.





Hrmm.

Maybe if I went to more parties like that when I was younger, I'd have a greater appreciation for it!

Instead, I have to listen to people talk about their costumes and their big party plans and how awesome it's going to be. I just shake my head. I really can't stand it. Someone's dressing as a shower. How original! Well, unless you saw Karate Kid. Someone else wants to be Nick Fury. I guess it's a good excuse to buy an eyepatch. Someone else said Adam West Batman. At least I thought that one was clever.

But I still don't understand the obsession with adults playing dress up - even if it's just for one night. And the people who claim Halloween as their favorite holiday? Good lord. Just ship them out right now because they do not belong in any country of mine, gosh darnit!

I'm rambling, I realize... but in closing, my bottom line is that if you don't have kids dressing up for Halloween, calling Halloween your favorite holiday really should be a bit embarrassing for you.

Baseball Season Ends

Technically, it ended a few days ago as I really couldn't bring myself to care after the Dodgers were eliminated but since I consider the Sox my "American League team" and have done so for over twenty years now, I maintained the slightest bit of interest until tonight. With the Sox out of it and facing the idea of a Tampa Bay/Philly World Series [Bud Selig may kill himself tonight,] it's officially time to say "Wait til next year."

But the Hot Stove season is already in full effect with the majority of speculation falling in three spots: Manny, CC, and Peavy.

Let's take a look at some of the early rumors regarding the Dodgers so far...

It's pretty much a given that Lowe is gone. Penny is probably gone too. I'm guessing Saito will be gone. Blake too. I'm thinking Raffy will stay.

Really, that just leaves Manny.

McCourt was wishy-washy about it, talking about how it takes two to tango and all that jazz. It was him preparing Dodger fans that it's not gonna happen. I'm guessing the Dodgers will offer three years with an option for a fourth. Unless they highly overpay, I don't think that'll get it done. I can't imagine someone won't go four guaranteed. Maybe even five. I don't think anyone will go six like Boras is looking for but four or five shouldn't be a problem and I'm guessing that takes the Dodgers out of the Manny market unfortunately.

Joe Torre wants pitching - and made no secret about it. With Lowe and Penny gone, that'll leave Kuroda, Billingsley, and Kershaw in the starting rotation. McDonald might be a possibility for the fifth spot since he did well in his limited action in the callup. So, if you figure the Dodgers are shooting for at least one starter and maybe two, there are some targets already being mentioned that are pretty intriguing.

CC Sabathia is obviously the number one target for starting pitching for all teams this offseason. The Yankees are going to go in and go in big for CC. The rumors all say that Sabathia wants to stay on the West Coast but it'll take a pretty big offer to make him turn down the kind of dollars the Yanks are going to offer him. The Dodgers will make a big offer, I'd imagine - if for no other reason to make it look good that they tried. If I had to guess, I'm thinking Sabathia won't end up in Dodger blue. And frankly, I don't know if I'm that upset about that. Long-term, big dollar deals for starting pitching hasn't worked out so well in recent years for my team.

The number one trade target for pitching is going to be Jake Peavy. We've already heard that Peavy picked five teams that he'd waive his no-trade for with the Dodgers being one of them. The Pads are looking for middle infielders and young pitching to make the deal. I'd dangle Hu and McDonald - see what happens. If they want a lot more, move on.

There's been pretty persistent rumors of the Dodgers' interest in Robinson Cano for a while with Yanks fans thinking a Cano for Kemp was fair. While I wouldn't go that far, it's probably a conversation worth having since they apparently don't feel that Blake DeWitt is a good long-term solution at second base. With Kent likely to retire, second base will be a hole that needs to be filled this winter.

Juan Pierre and Andruw Jones have both requested trades if they won't be played. I have no problem with either of those - but I'm sure Ned Coletti will have quite a problem with making a deal for either. Both would require taking on a bad contract in return. Any ideas?

Nomar thinks he might retire. Might not be a bad idea for him. If he wants to stick around as a super-sub/pinch hitter for cheap enough, I'd keep him for that purpose as long as he knows his role.

Some talk about Randy Johnson possibly coming to the Dodgers or Angels. I could live with that as a 4th or 5th starter. It'd kinda be like Greg Maddux but... well, a lot different. If the price is right, I'm cool with that deal.

Saw some speculation today that the Cubs might be interested in Manny and might try to move Soriano or Aramis Ramirez to the Dodgers to clear payroll to accomplish that. I'm not overly fond of either of those deals but they're interesting ideas.

Okay... so, I know it's the time of year for weird rumors but this one took the cake for sure...

The Dodgers might be exploring trades for Russell Martin?

I'm going to hold firm and deny, deny, deny there's any way that's true until I hear more details.

It's gonna be an interesting six months.

Blue's Reviews: Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling

I just hit play on the DVR for tonight's UFC show that I'm quasi-looking forward to but I can't imagine it'll be anywhere near as fun as Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling that I just finished watching.

When they first announced the concept, I said that it'd live or die based on the people they booked for it. Then the talent list got announced and with names like teen pop star Tiffany and Tabitha from Bewitched, the show looked doomed. But then some clips started to surface and again, my interest was piqued a bit.

Tonight, the debut of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling hit the airwaves and I loved every second of it. Sure, it's corny. Sure, it's a little silly to see Screech delivering clotheslines but some of those guys looked like they were having the time of their lives and - shockingly - seemed to have a little bit of talent for it.

Screech, Butterbean, and Bonaduce seemed to be the best from the first episode. Todd Bridges looked athletic but didn't do much. The girls haven't shown much at all so far. Rodman looked alright but he should look better since he's done wrestling before.

How crazy is it that I now have to say... "I can't wait for next week!"

Oh, and I said when the Sox came back to win Game 5 that it was the kind of win that can change a series - just like I knew that Game 4 of the NLCS was the kind of loss that could change a series.

Yeah.

It ain't over yet for the Rays but... well, it's nervous time if you're a Tampa Bay fan.

Keep Your Politics In Your Own Bedroom Please

Fuck it.

Since I was already on my high horse the past couple days about the horrific, pathetic state of the American health care system, I might as well take a few jabs at the latest attempt to pass off bigotry as "traditional values."

Check these fantastic ads done in the tradition of my favorite commercials out...

The Final Countdown REMIX!

The Return Of Top Five Friday!

First off, I want to thank everyone who left a commment or sent an e-mail or called or texted or whatever in support yesterday. It was a very difficult day for myself and my family that really made the health care system problems in our country starkly apparent. Bad stuff, people. Bad stuff. Think about things like that when you wonder why I spend so much time supporting Barack Obama on this blog. Anyways, my thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

On a lighter note, since I'm sitting at home today, I thought it would be a good time to revive Top Five Friday - a long-running feature that got pushed aside when I started working every Friday. It was always one of my favorite posts of the week and I was getting a little bummed out that I wasn't doing it anymore.

To get back in the swing of things, I thought I'd throw myself a softball. It's no secret that I've been quite underwhelmed with the offerings on television lately [thank God for the MLB Playoffs and the return of the Lakers and all the debates] but there have been a few things that still rock my socks. Therefore, I thought I'd give them a little shoutout today.

TOP FIVE FRIDAY: The Top Five TV Shows I'm Watching

DISCLAIMER: There's a lot of highly-regarded shows out there that I'm not watching yet - things like Dexter, Mad Men, etc. There's also a pair of shows that would probably make the list if I was caught up on DVD [Prison Break, Battlestar Galactica.] Also, no shows that haven't returned yet [24, Lost, American Idol, Scrubs, 30 Rock] are included. And finally, there's a handful of shows that I've got on DVR that I'm not caught up on yet [How I Met Your Mother, Fringe, Gossip Girl] which'll affect my rankings.

HONORABLE MENTION: General Hospital & GH: Night Shift
I don't know why but I had a hard time comparing these to the rest of the list so I decided to give them their shoutout in a different area. I've been watching GH on and off since I was... well, to hear my family tell it, since I was born. I can spout off and recall random GH storylines from the past two decades +. In recent years, it's gotten very mob-centric which is a little dull so when Night Shift came along focusing on the hospital again, it was like a breath of fresh air. Both shows are very different from one another but from the same family, it's very cool to see.

MORE HONORABLE MENTIONS:
Entourage - Started off pretty slowly but has really picked up steam starting with the ep where Ari got the Ferrari and carrying all the way through last weekend's which was might be my favorite of the season.

How I Met Your Mother - Due to a DVR error, I'm a few eps behind on this but the first episode of the season was fantastic. This is one of my favorite shows so I can't imagine the rest of the season hasn't been golden but I couldn't rank it based on one show.

Gossip Girl - Same as above. I'm 2 or 3 eps off on this one but what I've seen so far has been awesome. One of my favorite shows on TV easily.

TOP FIVE!

5. The Office
The Office, while still funny as hell, has felt a little off to me this season. Maybe it's the lack of Pam in the building but I haven't felt the same kind of magic that the show usually has. It still has some incredible moments but it's been a little off so far. I haven't seen last night's episode yet so I'm hoping that picks things up for the show.

4. The Amazing Race
Easily my favorite reality show, I remain so disappointed they don't shoot this thing in HD because it would be absolutely gorgeous if they did. TAR serves as the ultimate travel show, showing off some amazing places in the world while featuring some of the most fun characters in reality TV. The great thing about TAR is that we don't get overloaded on one character or another like you tend to see in Survivor or the like so we get just enough to love, hate, or be indifferent towards them without feeling like they're overexposed.

3. Pushing Daisies
This might bump up once I see last week's episode but I adore this show and every time I hear that it might be close to cancellation, I weep a little inside. Wonderfully quirky and adorable all at the same time, this show is one of TV's best and a cancellation here would rank right up there next to Arrested Development and Firefly as true tragedies in the course of TV history. If you're not watching this show and spreading the word, you're part of the problem, people! If Pushing Daisies gets canceled, the terrorists win!

2. Desperate Housewives
I know, I know - I'm not supposed to like it but dammit, I just can't help myself. After a lackluster second season, DH has been perhaps the most consistent show on television year after year. After pulling what many viewed as a ratings stunt by "jumping ahead" in last season's finale, they have really knocked things out of the park so far this season. We almost ditched this one when we dropped Grey's but I'm glad we stuck around because it's been a ton of fun.

And the #1 show I'm currently watching...

1. The Shield
SPOILER ALERT! You know a show is well-written when the death of a fairly minor character at the hands of another character is enough to make the Missus despise the killer so badly that she refuses to watch it anymore. The Shield has put out some of the most compelling and thrilling television that you could ever imagine seeing and it'll be a true loss to television when they wrap things up in about two months' time. This season has been a scorcher from moment one and last week's was simply awesome. Things are really heating up and I can't wait to see how it all ends. I'm guessing it won't be with the screen cutting to black.