Coming Back to the Kerry Thing

Sorry, this Kerry comment bothers me. Not because it's all that offensive (stupid, not really offensive) or even likely to cause any political damage. It just reinforces the sad fact that mainsteam Democratic officials still don't care enough to learn about hip hop or black culture and at best they think that the two are one and the same. It's still true (I fear) that Democrats expect Blacks to vote for Dems just because we (Dems) represent the lesser of two evils. I'm sick of coasting. I hate the idea that Democrats ignore and take our base for granted. What are we going to deliver if we win?

So what can we do. A friend from the campaign Jamal and I have talked about these issues. Jamal came up with this great idea. He is working to create a mentoring program that would enable African-American, Latino and Asian-American students to become involved early and work in politics for years. Students would work for their state rep, and go to leadership seminars. They would also be paired with mentors. Instead of lamenting the absence of African Americans in the campaign world--why don't we work to build tools and programs that empower young African Americans to get involved. Jamal's group is www.heepac.org. I don't think the program is up and running yet, but it will be. I will post more about the program as I know more.

"I'm fascinated by Rap and Hip-Hop"

Yes, it's true. John Kerry loves the black man. He is "fascinated by rap and hip hop." Fucking great. Doesn't fascination seem a bit demeaning. Fascinating is how a drunk 1st year anthropology student describes the Maori, or Lakota. John could you name a single song by Ludacris, can you tell me who Chuck D is? Tribe called quest? Outkast? How deep and unquenchable is his "fascination." Maybe I'm just beating up on J(F)K unfairly. But it sure seems like a blatant pander. I don't expect John Kerry to be a fan of KRS-One or X-Clan. It's fine to not like hip hop--it's worse to pretend.

Oh, and this from the man who said that he would like to be the second black president.

John Kerry, it's time to get your PANDER on! Maybe Dean will lend you his Wyclef.

Liberals Can Never Be Political...

"Liberals, properly speaking, can never be political. Liberals tend to be optimistic about human nature, whereas 'all genuine political theories presuppose man to be evil.'"

A nifty little article about German thinker Carl Scmitt and about how liberals fail to see politics in sufficiently adversarial and violent terms. JKD, I'm guessing you'd agree. Sadly I hate this part of politics. I guess I'm a "liberal," at heart. But I'm starting to acquiesce....let's just beat the ever-living shit out of those fuckers.

"There is, for liberals, always something as important, if not more important, than victory, whether it be procedural integrity, historical precedent, or consequences for future generations." True. That's hard for me. But I refer back to the beating of those fuckers argument. Gotta toughen up.

Damn Straight

Tom Daschle went to the floor of the Senate yesterday and delivered a scathing rebuke on the administration's abuse(s) of power. He talks about the many prominent investigations and allegations that BushCo has launched to discredit anyone issuing statements of dissent. A must read.

"This is not 'politics as usual.' In nearly all of these cases, it's not Democrats who are being attacked. Senator McCain and Secretary O'Neill are prominent Republicans, and Richard Clarke, Larry Lindsay, Joe Wilson, and Eric Shinseki all worked for Republican Administrations...The response from those around the President was retribution and character assassination -- a 21st Century twist to the strategy of "shooting the messenger."

There are two sides to every story, sadly the adminstration is telling both

American Progress. org has a a neat little bit of research on Condi Rice and her numerous lies.

For instance:
CLAIM: "Not a single National Security Council principal at that meeting recommended to the president going after Iraq. The president thought about it. The next day he told me Iraq is to the side." – National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/22/04
FACT: According to the Washington Post, "six days after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush signed a 2-and-a-half-page document marked 'TOP SECRET'" that "directed the Pentagon to begin planning military options for an invasion of Iraq." This is corroborated by a CBS News, which reported on 9/4/02 that five hours after the 9/11 attacks, "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq." [Source: Washington Post, 1/12/03. CBS News, 9/4/02]

RE: Prospect Article

Another point on Aaron's post below.

"The most interesting part of the article argues that the essential form of hiphop/rap--that of a music that shocks and challenges is dying because of the mainstream acceptance."

Hmmm...where have I heard that before? Ah yes, I believe that argument has been made, let's see, CONSTANTLY for the last 30 years or so RE:Rock'n'Roll. Now there may be some pretentious assholes out there who would argue, "Rock is dead," but...well, check your CD collection/record sales/the CD collections of everyone you know.

Any argument like this, about hip-hop especially, comes down to simple racism. Black people make hip-hop, it's not original, they can't do anything more with it, etc.

Listen assholes, a little exercise:
put on "Rock Around the Clock"
then "Abbey Road"
then "Pablo Honey"
then "Kid A"
[pause]
then "Rapper's Delight"
then "Fear of a Black Planet"
then "Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik"
then "Speakerboxx/The Love Below"

Okay? Get my damn point? Good.
But in case you didn't...
Rock has come a long way in the 48 years since "Rock Around the Clock." And for a lot of that time, people have been saying that it really couldn't go anywhere new. That is clearly and provably untrue.
Hip-hop has come a long way in the 25 years since "Rapper's Delight." And it clearly has a long way further to go.
By way of further analogy - a lot of great rock records have been made since 1981.

One last point:
It's also pretty interesting how each of the first rock and rap songs to hit #1 was lyrically devoted, primarily, to talking about rocking/rapping. Clearly, there's still a lot of that on both sides, but...well, both have also come a long way. Is all.

The Prospect Assails Rap, but lacks evidence

From the British publication "Prospect" comes an article that wanders around in search of a salient point but never really gets there. Though the journey is interesting. The goal seems to be provng that we're nearing the the end of rap or that rap is dead. Sadly the evidence supplied is weak and surface. Frankly some lines of argument are just plain stupid : "Rap has a problem with originality. Its habit of salvaging old hit records in the service of the new (for those who can afford copyright clearance) means that it has a limited repertoire of material to plunder." Except that's like saying that English is limited because we only have a certain number of words or only 26 letters. The recombination and alteration of those letters, words and symbols has served us fairly well.

The most interesting part of the article argues that the essential form of hiphop/rap--that of a music that shocks and challenges is dying because of the mainstream acceptance. How can rap/hip hop reclaim "otherness" when they are so absorbed into our mainstream culture (from fashion, to dialect, etc).

Sadly this point is lost amongst really shoddy journalism..and questionable writing. "By 'keepin' it real,' prescribed tribal codes are maintained." Tribal codes. Hmmm...

A message from "The One and Only Phil James"

From PJ: "If you wish to post this, Aaron, you may

A SWIFT KICK IN THE CROTCH, Episode I:
Okay, I'm just writing to let you former Deaniacs know that I'm currently working to revenge Howard Dean's loss in Polk County, and most specifically, all of those cynics who fail to believe that politics can be about people again. It's going to happen. More news later...In the words of the great Keyanu Reeves in "Point Break" speaking to the immortal Patrick Swayze: "You're going down, Bodhi."
PJ"

If Phil says it, it is so. Let the crotch kicking begin.

Where's the FCC when you need them?

JKD posts a disturbing link to Fox's newest tripe--"The Swan." Just when you thought society couldn't define success for women in a more narrow and shallow fashion--turns out Fox found a way. Women live together and have plastic surgery in order to remain on the show and compete in the season ending Swan Pagent. Guilt free watching. But, it should be noted, this is obviously much less damaging than seeing Janet Jackson's nipple.

It's nice to see that Fox is encouraging the sampler set of scarring. Physical, emotional and social scarring all in one show.

I need a shot or a shot gun.

AsOnTv.com

Fell asleep on the couch and woke up to an informercial about clothes hangers. Apparently, these clothes hangers will save me thousands of dollars because by buying them I will never again have to build a new closet. Extra closet building is a malady with which, I have of late, been repeatedly afflicted so this product gained personal relevance in a hurry. Another great "feature" or "benefit" of these hangers is as the woman hawking the product declared is that, "You'll never have to bend down again." Really, never. Wow, that's fucking amazing. Though as the informercial reveals, apparently the only reason people bend down (not over...that's more like Jake Taylor's blog's territory) is to retreive fallen spaghetti strap dresses. So this product might not save my lower back. But I bet if I flipped channels for a while I could find another product that would promise lower back relief--and save me thousands of dollars.

In search of the name of these "miracle hangers" (which sounds like an early Roman ad for nails) I found AsOnTv.com--a site teeming with infomercial favorites. Including, the Natural Bra, a commecial I've never seen, but now having read the description, deeply wish I had.

"Women have always (really, forever, wow) been searching for the perfect bra, but now the search ends with the Natural Bra! This unique and versatile bra is truly one of its (isn't every thing one of its kind by definition) kind. The Natural Bra gives you the look and feel of a natural added cup size, enhanced cleavage control with the Cleavage Control Clip (I love alliteration, though I fear this feature...what could it do?), and is comfortable to wear anytime."

This an more at www.asontv.com a listing of products you could have bought on TV, but instead want to buy online.

I Like NY!

Just came back from a NYC-Boston trip. Visited New York City for only the second time. Previously I'd visited in the 2-3 week window after the WTC attacks when everything (I'm told) had a very eerie unnatural vibe--with incredibly good reason. So I anticipate that this trip revealed very different city.

That first trip, led me to believe that NYC as a city operates on the principle that it would like to get rid of you. Not you as a specific individual, but "you--symptom of overcrowding." It wasn't angry at me, just frustrated that yet another person "discovered" a cheap bus ticket and was trying to "learn" and "acclimate" himself to THE BIG CITY. I found that people looked through me as I walked down the street. That it wasn't even that they didn't like me...that I didn't rise to the level where they would entertain the notion of thinking about me long enough to form any preliminary opinions. Caveat (though if you read this...you probably don't need any caveats) I'm not a city person by nature. I adore Minneapolis and have long feared NYC. I'm this quasi-midwesterny-guy. So this behavior was at least odd, if not off putting.

This visit was better. First off--I harbor no delusion that the city cares about me. it's a fucking 8 million person entity, it doesn't give a good goddamn about me. So that was healthy to realize. Nothing is personal. At all. Everything is acted out in a reduced fashion from some larger seething organism. it's like my leg-hair-cells feeling that I have any personal concern for their existence. Nope. no time.

Other thoughts from my time in NYC
1. The subway sucks. I know that everyone thinks it's great and that by lashing out at the subway I'm letting the terrorists win. But what I craved was the easy to use Boston or DC maps. In NYC you can supposedly catch a train anywhere. Bullshit. You can look at a map with the pictorial representation of a train which if it existed or ever ran (ever) might, in theory carry you near the station in question. I like the idiot proof Metro or the T. Get on train. Wait till your train intersects a station that intersects trains of another color. get off your train. find walls painted the color of the train you want. step onto train. go to location. In NYC the whole process seems to be run by the cab companies...who know that there is only so long you can wait in filth for a train that may or may not exist.

2. Sushi. I struggle to imagine how it's possible that there are enough people in NY state to justify the number of Sushi restaurants in NYC. It's unreal. Nothing terribly insightful or funny about that...just something I cannot comprehend. And yet...no sushi while in NYC for Aaron.

3. 3-hour dinners are rare and great. I had dinner with a friend of a friend in NYC. We sat (despite the hovering wait staff) for 3 hours and had fairly good food and great conversation. It's hard to beat a pleasant wide-ranging conversation--rarely am I happier than during those moments. It was however a strange moment, feeling relaxed and largely unhurried in New York. Plus it ended up being very cost effective entertainment. The restaurant was well and tastefully lit. Good temperature. Not too loud. Reasonably priced food and solid service. The Farmer's Friend (near Union Square).

4. Joel's Dad is crazy. I met a friend of a friend (Joel) and his father. We (Matt, Matt, Ben and I) went to help these guys from Hoeboken move a pool table they'd bought from Joel's Dad. So we went and did this. It was easy (all things considered). But Joel's Dad began hawking garage sale refuse like an auctioneer. Talking of the virtue of stained throw pillows, and scratched and faded Crouch and Fitzgerald briefcases. He's crazy. Just saying, is all.

5. Times Square is a terrifying experience. I went to Times Square and I felt swallowed. Not in the sense of being enveloped. or consumed. I felt as though I was moved down some giant gullet by peristaltic forces beyond my control and certainly beyond my comprehension. I moved because those around me did so. I absorbed and reflected consumerism. If consumption were the Sun Times Square would be those places on the Earth without ozone layer. The rays of crass, consumptive excess beat down on you and exhaust you. I was assaulted by signs commanding me to question my choice of film, underwear, what movies I watch. Finally I saw a sign with a woman sitting languidly on a verdant rock-jungle scape. She's wearing a green dress. and to her right are the words "are you comfortable". Unpunctuated. it's a pseudo question. They're not asking if you're comfortable. it's much more a phrase, a declaration...essentially saying--you're not comfortable. People have so much natural neurosis...I don't need some fucking billboard reminding me that my pants are too tight, and the tag on my shirt itches and I'm not dating anyone....it's my discomfort, and I'll thank you to leave it the hell alone. (so now, rereading that last sentence...I sound like a raving lunatic--so that's something) The final annoyance (and this is silly) was the Bubba Gump Shrimp Restaurant. It's a restaurant that's based on a movie, based on a book based. yep. oh and they sell T-shirts.

6. Stand up comedy is hard. A friend of mine, Steve Boyer was slated to perform at a comedy revue-thingy on Friday. We were going to go and see him, and support him as he gives this a go. Very funny. remarkably talented. should be good. Except the only people in the audience were comedians...who left by the time Steve was on. Steve performed for 3 of us. Steve is very funny. What's funnier is the location. We were upstairs in the converted (please god, tell me it's no longer in use) champagne room of the strip club where the comedy revue was held. that's right, very comfortable couches, very pricey alcohol and the lingering realization that in the room below you, greasy men with crumpled dollars were leering at women. We thought it was a strange thing, maybe the comedians would be forced to strip as part of the entrance fee---thankfully the two worlds remained isolated. Oh and my part of the couch folded out. So that was a bit strange. No stains though...I checked.

Lots of complaining. But on the whole it was good fun. I had fine meals, good conversation, saw GHD, saw many friends, a nice thing. I cannot say that I love NY. But I Like NY!

Email Address

If folks wish to post comments they can email me (and I'll try and put up some of the better ones)

oberlinblog@yahoo.com

Hmm...I think JKD's right.

leavy,
re: your response to my response to you talking about my post.

you're hopelessly naive about this. you're attributing what you hope to be motives of artists ("Rather it presents itself as a gift, freely given") to what you define as ART. please. artists are whores, too, and often as not are making shit to sell it. that it's good - that you enjoy it - is a testament to the fact that the artist is good at his job, not that it's a "gift."

the flip side of this, then, is that something designed to sell something else - as opposed to just itself which is, i'll reiterate, the JOB of most art - can be art, too. most of the prints in my
house are posters - advertising magazines, mostly, but are advertisements. they're art. that they were made a hundred years ago does not exclude them from being commercials, too - just as nike's 60-second spots aren't disqualified from being art merely by being made today.

jkd
========
Well, I'm wrong. Or at least I'm not right. Which reduces me to the stupid questions of a prententious 1st year at Oberlin..."what is art?" Blah, etc. That's a long road to navigate, and I don't REALLY know enough to start down it. Suffice to say, my flowery longing for art as defined by intent fails to explain objects of ordinary purpose (ie, ancient pottery) and it reduces things too finely and inaccurately. To JKD..does intent matter then at all?

Mock the Vote

The Onion offers a brilliant, detailed analysis of the latest special dis-interest group dominating insider politics.

This just in--John Kerry, is desperately trying to schedule a meeting with the head of the PAC. Sadly, proving himself without any sense of satire. Shocking, I know.

Obama Wins!

So Barack Obama won. Apparently spending 29 million in the primary wasn't enough for Blair Hull. It looks like the Democrats are going to be able to field an exciting candidate Senate in Illinois. Ilinoisians supported a candidate with a grasp of the issues, and powerful ideas. Nicely done, Illinois. Too bad Iowans/New Hampshirites/, &c aren't that cool.

Art is a Gift

JKD argues that commercials can be art. To my way of thinking, art must be a gift. It is a gift freely given from the author to either a known audience (stage) or to an unknown audience (landart). But it is at base and at best--a gift. I present you with this thought. Commercials are caustic for the simple fact that they use the trappings of art (Weiden Kennedy excels at this, as does the gap--using fine choreography) but they are not art. They are artistic.

By stealing the language and the tools of art they seek to rob art of its ability to adequately critique commercials. The envelop and devour the very poison that might serve to separate them from art. Like a weed with an adapatation to Weed-be-gone.

The difference is that the "gift" a commercial gives is more of a barter. In exchange for feeling like an informed, atypical consumer (one who "sees through the silliness of commercials") you are expected to trade your loyalty. In exchange for being cool enough to understand the irony, or the word play or the myriad visual references in every good commerical...you are expected to return the favor...with loyalty and monetary support. It is an expectant favor. A Claes Oldenburg sculpture doesn't expect you to relinquish your love of Rodin. You can love it more, but it never asks that you become "brand loyal." It nevers cajoles you into believing and maybe even declaring--"Oldenburg the choice of a new generation." Rather it presents itself as a gift, freely given. It may demand of you your thought, it may take from you your comfort with the world as you know it. But again, it's a free exchange. Its motives if not its message are clear.

The expectation, the motives that a commercial tries to hide is why it fails as art. It is a friend that pays a compliment only with the expectation that, owing to the ideals of polite society, a return volley is owed.

RE: Leavy Talking About Me

So, this is following up on Leavy's response to my post on my blog . How frickin' postmodern is that.
The point I didn't quite get to, that Leavy addressed, is the question of whether commercials can be art. I believe, in fact, that they can. Art is meant to effect, and commercial art serves the same purpose - it's just that rather than making you think about the nature of sorrow or joy, it makes you want to buy something. This can be accomplished either with sublety (commercials for Volkswagen, Sportscenter, Nike), or bluntly (most everything else).
"Duel Masters" falls in the category of "most everything else." It is done in a cheap, derivative Japanime style (and yes, there is such a thing as a slick, innovative Japanime style - many, many examples, but "Teen Titans" is one of the most accessible - Cartoon Network, Saturdays 9 p.m. EST). It is not compelling; does not have any real narrative tension; and is, as I mentioned previously, enormously cynical.

Lay it on a flat surface like a Polaroid picture

I guess others have seen and posted about this...but I'll add my .02.

The Polaroid Company has been kind enough to include a reference to OutKast's hit Hey Ya in it's FAQ, specifically its (the song's) command that you, "shake it like a Polaroid picture." Well it seems that according to the expertsone should refrain from such behavior.. Who knew?

The chemicals in a Polaroid picture never come into contact with the air, thus "shaking", "twirling", or even potentially "blowing" it like a Polaroid picture is without effect--in fact it could be deleterious to the accurate representation of those glorious memories.

Rock is the Triumph of Aural Culture Over Literary

Stephen Metcalf writes that pop music is the triumph of aural culture over literary. But he does so much more elegantly than I could.

"All pop criticism is bad. Like a boring dinner guest, it’s garrulous and name-dropping. Under the pretense of informing you, it glories in your ignorance. It reeks of junk-strewn garrets and a degrees in semiotics from Brown."

Stephen Metcalf writes a rambling, and remarkable review of Geoffrey O'Brien's "Sonata for a Juke Box: Pop Music, Memory, and the Imagined Life.

Should've Finished Each Call by Dropping the Phone

I just read a great little essay about this woman who gets assigned Chris Rock's cell phonenumber . Not a bad lot in life. The disappointment at talking to Jack Nicholson's assistant is great.

So It's Official

John Kerry will be the nominee.

His victories yesterday ensure that he will be the standard bearer for the Democrats this cycle.

I don't know how I feel about this. Or, frankly, if I even care. I know that I wish him well, and hope that the currently faltering-gang-that-couldn't-shoot-straight approach of the White House continues. But it's truly hard to see the benefits of the White House's demise accrue for a man like John Kerry.

The only advantage over my guy is that Kerry won't mess up. He is the political version of Mark Lemke, or maybe more fairly Hal Morris. He's not flashy. He won't hit it out of the park, and make you rise to your feet, fists pumping, chest beating, and hope restored. That's not his thing. He will however not begin to name states and Yeaarrghh!. John Kerry is a solid candidate...and the collapse (if it continues) of the Bushies may make Solid John a good candidate.

In any kind of a world, though, where we need to excite and inspire (two distinctly different ideas) the base John's going to fall short. Dean, for all his foibles (and there were some), was able to go yard. Dean may strike out (confederate flags, scream) but those were only because of big swings, where if he connected it'd be a new ballgame. I miss that about our politics. I more aptly, I don't miss it, because I don't know that I've experienced it beyond Wellstone and Dean. I yearn for it. That's more accurate. I want a politics where the power to expand our base, the power to EMpower is seen as the great asset and not the great concern. A politics where blood rushing to your face, and people standing on street corners waving signs is a valid measure of the talent of the speaker and not whether he parses words well. I want a politics where tepid politicians are mocked...as PGA golfers would be at WWE matches.

But as the AP article indicates--I'll have to wait.

Hard to Understand High Notes

High Notes

are demonstrably harder to understand. Which may explain, why I don't get Mariah Carrey's success.

"Hector Berlioz long ago warned composers not to put crucial words in the soprano's mouth at high notes." And if Hector Berlioz warns you...boy you better listen.

"A recent study at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, lays most of the blame on an inescapable tradeoff dictated by the physical acoustics of vowel differentiation and singing very high notes. Acoustical physicists John Smith and Joe Wolfe, working with physics undergraduate Elodie Joliveau, have carried out an experiment that demonstrates why different vowel sounds are almost impossible to distinguish when sopranos are singing in the highest octave of their range"

So there you are...

See Jake Rant, Rant Jake, Rant

Over on JKD's blog there is a nifty little analysis of the increasing commercialization of cartoons. It's an interesting thing--the overlap between commercial and 'art' (even faux art). Begs the question can a commercial ever be art? Can you have something made for a purpose apart from self expression or external communication that's art? Not sure. Maybe that's my next post.

Does art have to be separate from wanting something of you? (your money)

http://jkdickel.blogspot.com/2004_03_01_jkdickel_archive.html#107922427879909441

A lot to be neurotic about

Having returned to Columbus (well, Westerville) from DC and from Key West I've come to realize that I occupy a fairly normal place within my circle of friends. I'm no more or less neurotic, than the mean. Jake Taylor, Matt Robinson, Matt Baldwin, JKD and I travelled 24 hours from DC to Key West, with us were two pouches of beef jerkey, stinkbag, lots of yellow jackets, and several tense regime changes. Thankfully the Axis of Neurosis arrived safely, if not more than a little stinky. We met Captain Carribea, and the Grand Floridian already in progress (already drinking, tanning, reading, being relaxed). In a land created for the pleasure of pasty, paunchy protestants eager for some cheap debauchery, or at least the feeling of cheap debauchery, I returned having embraced some of the islands virtues (relaxation, good food) and a few of the vices (bad bars, and pricey alcohol). Sadly in the shirtless world of the beach, my appearance recalls William Clinton's shameful jogging more so than the idyllic touch football games of the Kennedy clan. I arrived and returned, pasty, and a bit paunch to a degree that offended both viewer and owner. I managed to hide my shame easily, as it was in the low 60s throughout. I witnessed people scuba diving next to others in winter coats.

Random recollections: Large number of older males paired with younger woman, as if to suggest, "I'm thriving, and if nothing else I can afford this, so let's just pretend I'm healthy, wealthy and not your father's golf buddy."

I've rarely seen a place so enthusiastically and authoritatively pursue a mantra of self pleasure. It was required that you relax. It was ruled by some Jimmy Buffet gestapo.

Drag Shows can be fun. Especially if your friend is the much beloved audience member....even if he wouldn't "last 5 minutes at a tranny show in San Francisco." (quote, not mine)

"Jewfish Creek" remains a distubing image.

The return trip was great. Long drive, good company.

Since then I have returned to DC, and then in turn returned to Columbus. After a seemingly chance encounter with a fellow Iowarrior in DC, and the ensuing great conversations. I'm left more confused than before--though quite pleased. I have this strange sly smile about the whole thing (somewhere between a knowing glance and my normal pensive look). Who's to say what comes next. Distance and time being two Axises overwhich I have no control--I'm hopeful without being expectant. And so..."there's a lot to be neurotic about."

Though today and the previous 7 have really each represented, " A new day for Democrats." Or at least new days for me. I've gone from easily worried, and likely concerned, to something resembling normal. Making me the Iran of the Axis of Neurosis....sorta functional. DC granted me a reprieve from the desire to maintain and modify and tweak my personna. Instead, I read, and conversed, and allowed myself the privildedge of external definition. I'm doing well.

I Feel Dirty

This is weird, posting on someone else's blog...especially since I've just started my own. Aaron's blog is good and I look forward to reading it. If you read his blog once a day for 50 days, you will receive a free soda of your choice. Pepsi or Coca-Cola products welcome. But Aaron prefers Coke.

*Legal Notice: Any implications in the previous blog posting regarding fabulous prizes for reading this blog are false. If you believed them, you, sir, are an idiot. If you are a woman, you are also an idiot. But not a 'sir'. Thank you.

The smashing fusion (which I guess describes all fusion) of JKD and his love George Dickel into one great melange of whatnot. Worth a read. Worth a look. But if you're reading this you know JKD and you know that you want to read his site.

In a vain attempt to figure things out (life and the ending of the Dean campaign) by some sort of public catharsis...here is a blog. I recognize this is mainly an exercise in self indulgence.

so there's that,
aaron