D.C. Stands for "Drive Carefully"

I'm heading down to the Inauguration.



Look for me. I'll be the one standing next to the guy with the Obama sign.

Yes I Can

And now for some selfish bragging:

My electoral prediction - as per my comments on Derek's blog - was 365-173. Here's Nate Silver, statistician extraordinaire, from FiveThirtyEight.com weighing in on the final tally:

The Omaha World-Herald and several other news organizations have called Nebraska's Second Congressional District, which incorporates Omaha and some of its suburbs and exurbs, for President-Elect Barack Obama...

...This brings Obama's haul from Tuesday evening to 365 electoral votes...

In the interest of full disclosure, I guessed Missouri and Indiana wrong. Thought MO would be blue and IN red. Providentially, each state garners eleven electoral votes, meaning my overall call was still spot-on.

Remember, Remember

Yes we can?

That's old news:



An updated rhyme for November 5th, 2008:

Remember, remember the Fourth of November,
the unlikely candidate's bid.
Perhaps we should ban the phrase "Yes We Can,"
since yesterday We - in fact - Did.

On a personal note, I'm more numb than euphoric. Nothing has sunken in yet. As someone inclined toward studying history, I have trained myself to detect nuance and extract meaning from minor and obscure moments. My feelings about it, therefore, are akin to Epicureanism. But when history happens in a wave - as opposed to a steady, subtle drop, drop, drop - it overwhelms the system a bit. And in that way I'm just as helpless as anyone else in figuring out exactly how I feel today.

This, however, I know: The United States grew up last night. If you're an optimist you might read in this election the affirmation of our founding ideals. If you're a pessimist, you might believe this is an isolated triumph in the long, slow decline of the Republic. But regardless of where you sit on that spectrum, this individual event is unmistakably positive.

However our current struggles and problems play out, we can be justifiably proud of this moment. And no matter what happens to the President-Elect (I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about his safety), nobody can take it away.

Yes We Can

July 27th, 2004:



November 10th, 2007:



January 8th, 2008:



January 20th, 2008:



March 18th, 2008:



July 24th, 2008:



August 28th, 2008:



(UPDATE)
October 29th, 2008:

Hiatus

It was sort of strange, in mid-August, to announce that I was going "on vacation" to Memphis. Of course, I was already "on vacation" from school. One could argue - rather convincingly - that one does not require respite from relaxation. But, however awkward the concept may be, I feel a similar spell coming on.

As school starts and I'm diving into my classes (including the re-imagining of an elective I created, my labor of love, "The American Century"), I find myself with less and less time to even think about writing. I began this blog with the intent of organizing my thoughts in situ, displaying the little souvenirs of reflection I collected during periodic rambles through my mind. You know, that and YouTube videos. And it certainly satisfied that objective early on. But now I find it becoming an afterthought. So it's time to take a break. Even if I haven't posted enough recently for a complete stoppage to be considered a "break."

Not sure when I'll be back or if I'll write an entry from time to time in the interim, but I will return.

My Sentiments Exactly

This blogger on The Huffington Post echoes my thoughts on Joe Biden. Like him, years ago, I was channel-surfing and caught the Senator from Delaware handing John Ashcroft his un-electrocuted testicles while demanding accountability for U.S. torture. It is an issue that has received a disturbing cold shoulder from the media and - when pressed - the American public seems mostly to offer either an indifferent shrug or a 24-induced, full-throated war cry.

Despite his shortcomings that we'll all be hearing about in the next couple of months, this moment alone crystallizes why I'll have no problem getting behind the Democratic ticket:



The only C-SPAN moment during the Bush Administration that I found more compelling was Al Gore's speech on Martin Luther King Day, two years ago:



I had that on in the background while working on my computer - with no idea who was speaking. As the speech went on, I found myself getting goosebumps. I pretty much lost my shit when I realized it was Al Gore, a man not usually associated with words like "rousing" and "fiery orator."

"Cats and dogs, living together...mass hysteria!"

This won't be the first time this blog has taken a feline-centric turn and it won't be the last, but this remixed viral video from Slate is pretty clever.

Clever like a cat.

Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to Bailey, Matt & Judi's new golden retriever puppy. Not only will you have to live with Flannery, the Demon-Spawn, but you'll also have to endure your formative months with Matt teaching you how to behave. Oh, sweet, impressionable Bailey. Good luck coming out the other side even halfway normal.

Dogs can read blogs, right? It (kinda) rhymes, so it must be (kinda) true.