You remember how in the early 90s girls who previously only wore cute sundresses and preppy sweaters with chinos just showed up suddenly one day in plaid shirts and heavy lipstick and mary janes and barettes in their hair? And how if you asked them about their new looks (as I did), they would tell you some bullshit about how they’ve always wanted to dress that way, or that this is just what they like to wear, and you would just walk away fuming, just wishing that they would acknowledge the fact that they’re trying to really abruptly fit in to a style that was clearly not comfortable for them?
That’s how I feel when I look at the Republican Party.
The RNC elects its first African-American leader
And as much as I want to believe in progress and the capacity for change, I also want to run up to the RNC and smack the desperate efforts to stay relevant off of their faces.
Check out my other blog, recently created and with the shortest of lifespans, that celebrates all the beautiful shots of people reacting to Obama winning last week. It’s got a bit of a sexy title, Black People Crying, but it’s actually people of all ethnicities with happy, overwhelmed tears streaming down their faces. Because it was an emotional win for all of us.
First, a funny video I saw originally on Neatorama done by the guys of The Landline, asking the all-important question of “what if Hollywood directors made campaign ads?”
Second, an essay in the New Yorker by David Sedaris, a man I refer to as my “soul brother”, called Undecided. Here’s a smidgen:
I didn’t vote again until 1976, when I was nineteen and legally registered. Because I was at college out of state, I sent my ballot through the mail. The choice that year was between Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Most of my friends were going for Carter, but, as an art major, I identified myself as a maverick. “That means an original,” I told my roommate. “Someone who lets the chips fall where they may.” Because I made my own rules and didn’t give a damn what anyone else thought of them, I decided to write in the name of Jerry Brown, who, it was rumored, liked to smoke pot. This was an issue very close to my heart—too close, obviously, as it amounted to a complete waste. Still, though, it taught me a valuable lesson: calling yourself a maverick is a sure sign that you’re not one.
The essay is great, but honestly not up to Sedaris’ usual standards. Still read it, because a subpar Sedaris essay is still better than most others.
I’m not the most political girl on earth. I got burned by both Howard Dean, who I loved, and John Kerry, who I was just going through the motions for, like one of those guys you date because he looks good on paper but you know in your heart he’s not the right one for you. So now I am a little gunshy, but to keep myself informed, I have several outlets.
I saw this at Neatorama, (one of the best blogs I’ve ever seen), who found it in the Boston Globe. This is the first election that I’ve been both very excited about and yet not very involved in, which I have no intellectual or emotional excuse for, other than the fact that all of the endless speculation tires me out. I’m just ready to get to votin’ already. However, I like simple, objective political nuggets of info, so I love this. John Schwenkler decided to go through Obama’s and McCain’s campaign sites and just count the number of times words were used, and in fun blog style, represented his research in a fun tag cloud of sorts. Priorities and tones of their campaigns look much clearer to me, and I guess that swayed me finally to Obama! (Kidding kidding, good lord, I love Obama!)
I try not to post too political, but as this little beauty from the folks at 23/6 somehow incorporated my love of 80s movies and North Carolina, I must post. Rielle Hunter, mistress of John Edwards (who thank god didn’t get the nomination or else we’d have to kill him), appeared briefly in the excellent 80s movie Overboard starring Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell! 23/6 decided to really play up this angle of the story with a “Dancing Rielle”, available for the public!!
Jesse Helms, former North Carolina senator and eternal old coot, died today of natural causes. It’s always been a sore spot for any liberal North Carolinians that we’re from the state that produced this guy. He was a stodgy little fighter, sure, and he didn’t ever back down, but guess what? He should have. He was fantastically wrong about a lot of things.
I used to think Underworld was the coolest band ever, and now I'm wondering why I stopped thinking that. Second Toughest in the Infants FTW! 9 hours ago