"Have you ever kissed a radical European deconstructivist architect, baby?"

When I first saw the plans for the new art museum, I felt a ghastly chill....it was so ridiculously 70's. Now there are moments when, parked against the backdrop of a gorgeous red and yellow sunset, that its reflective surfaces and irreverent chaos feel remarkable, beautiful.

Still not sure what my opinion is, or if I even have one on this matter. I miss the little walled-in garden where the jazz bands used to play. But time, as they say, stops for no man and I guess that applies to cities too.

At least we made the Washington Post and the LA Times.

random wotd

phantasmagoria: a shifting series or succession of things seen or imagined.

News and Stuff.

President Bush is really senstive.

Another one gone. Good?

Lebron James He might have a future in the NBA.

why yes, I AM lame!

Alright, so no blogging since before the election (October, to be exact) does make me less worthy of even having a blog. Be that as it may, here's a little blog to read while I fail to have much to say...

This lovely little blog has been quite entertaining. Even though I don't really "get" the kid jokes: http://mommyhasaheadache.blogspot.com/

numero uno

You just can't call bologna a steak, and you can't put a tuxedo on the funky blues.

According to campaign finance information, Strickland has in-hand $1.8 million dollars, only a few weeks before the end of politician season. Blackwell, by contrast, has $174,102 dollars in cash to spend.

Now, before we get all excited about these figures (which are, admittedly, pretty exciting), we should recall that Blackwell has made substantial ad buys in the countdown to November 7th. Our ad project which seeks to catalogue ad buys in nearly real time, shows that Blackwell benefited greatly from Republican funding early in the race. He is now being nearly forgotten while they pour funds into races across the country that once seemed shoe-ins for the GOP. But this disparagy of funds gives major legitimacy to the idea that Strickland is pulling far, far ahead.

And despite the $15 million Blackwell has spent (versus Strickland's $16 million), he still trails his Democratic opponent by nearly 20 percentage points in many polls. No amount of money will convince Ohio voters that this joker is governor-material. Even Petro's lame attempt to intervene in the ID-requirement case now in Ohio Supreme Ct (while being the lawyer in the same case for Blackwell) won't save them now.

If my magic 8 ball is correct, Ohio will next month hire its first Democratic governor since 1986.

"Democrats for the first time are looking like they have a lot to celebrate in November," said University of Akron political scientist Stephen Brooks.

The old saying goes, "as goes Ohio, so goes the nation." So go Strickland, go. I'm hoping there's lots to celebrate November 8th.

a fence? that's your fucking plan?

Ahem...excuse me while I laugh.

What's so sad in this situation is that they really mean it. They're going to build a giant fucking fence on the Mexico-US border. This fence, meant to stem the tide of illegal immigration that has steadily risen over the last decades, is nothing more than election-year posturing for a Congress desperate to appear to have done "something".

The 800 pound gorilla here is of course that the fence is actually a giant unfunded mandate. Signed into law today by the President without new funding, its 700 miles will cost far more than the previously budgeted $1.2 billion Congress already approved. A single 14-mile section being built in San Diego is currently estimated to cost $126 million before the project's end. Final estimates will likely range from $6 billion to $8 billion, not including costs to train and maintain new border patrol guards.

This means that subsequent sessions of Congress will have to appropriate funds for its completition. If they do not, this "War on Mexicans" will be relegated to the dustbin along with other historical flops such as the "War on Drugs" and oh yeah, the now-accomplished "War in Iraq".

the ad round-up (part 2)

Sometimes, despite the bad taste that Ohio politics leaves in my mouth, you see something like this and you just want to break out the mouthwash for another round. Personally I'd like to find whoever found this ad's primary photo and give him $5. Maybe just a PBR.

the ad round-up (part 1)

From the New York Times:


Ad Seen as Playing to Racial Fears

By ROBIN TONER
Published: October 26, 2006

KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 25 — The Tennessee Senate race, one of the most competitive and potentially decisive battles of the midterm election, became even more unpredictable this week after a furor over a Republican television commercial that stood out even in a year of negative advertising.


________

This ad is being compared to the Willie Horton ad, which was the subject of several studies finding that it played on subtle racial fears of Southern whites. Do me a favor - watch this ad, watch the Horton ad, and tell me whether it's a valid comparison. Maybe I just don't see it because I'm not racist (ie, Southern). Harold, by the way, is African American.



Sorry, no youtube on this one...
The Willie Horton ad


Course, nothing really tops this one:



Now, see any parallels between the daisy ad and this lovely piece?



Who said ads weren't fun?

Say Anything Syndrome: March 2006

Say Anything Syndrome: March 2006

an interesting little not-so-pop culture blog. Haven't gone through the archives but it might prove rewarding...