for this, but then I saw (on MSNBC) Jesse Jackson in Grant Park, crying.
My daughter’s social studies teacher gave her class a little election coloring book a few days ago. Unfocused Girl used the brown marker to color in the man on the “a candidate is…” page.
Jesus, Nevada just went for Obama, and he’s leading — not by much, but still — in Indiana.
I don’t think I’ve ever wept at an election result before. President Obama. Wow.
Now you’re hearing it from me: if you haven’t voted yet, don’t forget to vote tomorrow. Even if you think your candidate will win without your vote, go vote. Pollsters make mistakes. Eight years ago, I schlepped down to Fort Lauderdale to monitor the Florida recount; believe me when I tell you that EVERY DAMN VOTE MATTERS.
I can’t wait until this damn election is over. I need the brainspace.
Update: According to MSNBC, they’ve already voted in Dixville Notch, New Hampshire. Obama won, 15 to 6; he’s the first Democrat to win Dixville Notch since 1968.
The Republicans have pushed me over the edge with their latest lunatic ranting. The most impressive thing about McCain’s — very funny — appearance on Saturday Night Live last night is that he managed it without visibly looking under the Weekend Update desk for commies hiding under it.
I’m not going to link to all of the videos of Republican candidates and talking-point spewing mouth breathers slandering Obama by calling him a socialist, Marxist, or communist; they’re available on in the ‘tubes. Google “Obama socialist” and you’ll find plenty. Let me get through the stats for the week and I’ll give you my rebuttal.
Miles run today: None. The Mrs. is singing excerpts from the Faure Requiem at church this morning, and I don’t miss her performances except for emergencies. She’s got a wonderful voice.
Words written: 590 words of the short story I’m working on. Between a tough week at work and election coverage at night, I haven’t been getting much writing done. Back on track after Tuesday!
And now, my Keith Olbermann-style special comment:
REAGAN WAS A SOCIALIST!
Okay, Republican neo-McCarthyites, what in your mind makes Obama a socialist? Is it his support for the progressive income tax structure (increasing marginal rates as income goes up)? McCain/Palin support the same structure, they just differ over the rates. Let’s assume that you don’t believe we’re living in a socialist state today. The top marginal income tax rate is currently 35%. Obama has proposed raising the top rate to 39.6%, which is where it was during the boom years of the 1990s. Are you saying that the line between a capitalist society and a socialist society is crossed somewhere between 35% and 39.6%? Where is that line, exactly? Is it 36%? 37? 38.2%? Were we socialists during the tech boom?
I also think that it’s unfortunate that you’re defaming Ronald Reagan by calling him a socialist. If Obama’s a socialist for proposing a 39.6% top marginal rate, Reagan must have been positively Stalinesque in his support for the communist system, because under his self-proclaimed “tax reform” the top marginal rate from 1982 through 1986 was 50%. What a pinko! Now, to give credit where credit is due, maybe the Gipper saw the light, because in 1986 he signed another tax bill that lowered the top marginal rate to 38.5%. Perhaps that’s the line we should never cross – 38.5%=capitalist market economy, freedom, and the shining city on the hill, while 38.51% = socialism, tyranny, oppressed masses, and another Evil Empire. Who knew the red revolution would be so subtle, and yet so well defined?
All tax systems are redistributionist, even a flat tax. Back in 2000, McCain called the Bush tax cuts “irresponsible.” So is going back to the pre-2001 top rate “socialistic” or simple fiscal responsibility?
MCCAIN FUNDED RADICAL PALESTINIAN TERRORIST!
As for Khalidi, while McCain served on the board of the International Republican Institute, that organization gave Khalidi several hundred thousand dollars in grants in the 1990s. Obama spoke at a dinner where the guy was in attendance, and says that in a couple of conversations Khalidi challenged some of Obama’s biases. Assuming Khalidi is some kind of radical terrorist (a charge for which there doesn’t appear to be any evidence), which association is more offensive?
Let’s get this straight: Obama, not a socialist, not someone who pals around with terrorists. He’s just the guy who’s kicking Republican ass.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged democrats, Election, fall, McCain, Obama, palin, Politics, rejection, rejection slips, Republicans, Running, stats, Sunday, Writing
Because McCain just threw his running mate under the bus. The clip isn’t up yet, but it will be soon right here if you missed it. I have to give the cranky old SOB credit — that was damn funny.
Before I get into the usual Sunday Stats, I’d like to say, Happy 150th Birthday, Theodore Roosevelt! I’ve been a fan of TR’s for years, and I’d like to say to John McCain that I’ve read a lot about Theodore Roosevelt,
and I feel qualified to say, Senator McCain, you’re no Theodore Roosevelt. And if you don’t believe me, ask him yourself.
In other news, Mrs. Unfocused has made an herculean effort and gotten all of the kids’ baby and toddler clothes out of the study (and out of the house), and rearranged the furniture remaining so that the study is a place I can work at home, and write, without piles of stuff teetering over my head. That would have been enough for me to feel like it’s Christmas in October, but on top of all that, she found me the perfect desk chair on Craigslist at a ridiculously cheap price:
Sure, it’s used and a little scratched, but some failed start-up’s loss is my tuchus’s gain, which is about the only good thing anyone can say about the economy these days. I’m still listening to Planet Money every day; I keep waiting for Adam Davidson or Laura Conoway to annouce the very special “Everything’s Okay!” episode, but instead, we have today’s topic, on how things are even worse in poorer countries. This does not help my mental state.
Miles run today: 10.16 miles in 1:21:54, an average pace of 8:04 minutes/mile, which is great. It was a beautiful fall day, and my various joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles, which have been very aware of the implacable approach of my fortieth birthday, were relatively uncomplaining. I beat the Mrs. and kids home, which is always a bonus because I don’t have to feel guilty about holding up the day while I stretch. And I need a lot more stretching than I used to have to do.
What was I listening to on my iPod during my run: Pheddipidations # 158 (“Running the Bay State Marathon”) and Escapepod # 178 (“Unlikely”). Escapepod, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is a free science fiction podcast, which audio-publishes new and previously published short stories. In episode 178, the host, Steve Eley, introduced me to the music of Jonathan Coulton. After listening to a few songs on Coulton’s website, I bought one of his albums (Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow), which I would classify as geek rock (Cory Doctorow used a line from one of the songs as the title of a recent short story, and if that isn’t geek cred, I don’t know what is). Coulton’s a heck of a songwriter, and he makes plenty of his music available for free on his website so you know what you’re buying.
Words written last week: 2,493 words of a new short story. I’m maybe 2/3 done with the first draft, and when that one’s done, I’ve got one more teed up in the Idea folder before I go back to Meet the Larssons, refreshed and ready to rewrite.
In another news, TTB was rejected for the fifth time this week. The rejection was short but personal and somewhat encouraging, which was a nice change, but still a rejection. At this point, I think I’m going to leave it alone for a few months, then take another look at it with an eye to revise it to make it, y’know, better; if I could cut it down to under ten thousand words, that would open up additional markets as well. In any event, I’m going to let it age for a while, and hope that it’s more like wine than an overripe cheese.
Final political note: I took Unfocused Girl and Junior out for a walk the other night to look at the Halloween decorations on the next block. As we got to the corner of our block, Junior looked at the house there and asked his older sister, “Is that where John McCain lives?”
Because, you see, I had told him that John McCain reminded me of the cranky old man who lived on the corner of my block when I was a boy. Last week, Junior had gotten confused and thought that McCain himself had lived on my block. Now he’s taken that one step further, and decided McCain lives on the corner of his block.
There goes the neighborhood.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged coulton, economics, fall, music, my new chair, Politics, rejection, rejection slips, roosevelt, Running, stats, Sunday, teddy, theodore, TR, unfocused junior, Writing
It’s a beautiful fall day in Chicago. The kids are playing with their friend from up the street, and the Mrs. and I are about to put up some Halloween decorations.
Overheard from the kids:
Junior: “This is Mommy’s Rubik’s cube.”
Boy from up the street: “What do you do with a Rubik’s cube?”
Junior: “You try to get it right.”
Boy from up the street: “How do you get it right?”
Junior: “…”
Miles run today: 8.58 miles, in 1:17:10. That’s a 9:00 minute/mile pace; the first half was at 9:21 and the second half was at 8:39. Not as slow as my creepy crawly half marathon last weekend, but not fast. I didn’t run at all during the week, again, in significant part because it took me so long to recover from last Sunday’s half marathon. I learned my lesson, though, and kept today’s run relatively short, so that I won’t be in so much pain in the next few days. My running has really gone to shit in the last few weeks, and I’d like to pick it back up before the weather really turns. There’s maybe another month of crisp fall days, which are perfect for running; then I have to break out the serious winter running gear. Today was ideal — around 50-55 degrees, sunny, and not too much wind. I couldn’t ask for any better weather. In any case, I’m done racing for the year now; I don’t have anything on the calendar until the Shamrock Shuffle next March.
What I had on my iPod during the run: Phedippidations # 157 (“The Third Annual World Wide Festival of Races”), and Seventh Son OBSIDIAN #32 (Final Episode, including “Eusocial Networking,” a short story by Scott Sigler, the founding father of podcast fiction).
Writing update: I’ve managed to keep my hands off of Meet the Larssons for another week. I wrote a 599-word flash story and submitted it to an online fiction site (guess what their word count limit is). I put together a three-page summary of one idea for my next novel (and damn, that feels weird to type: “my next novel”); call that one “Project Downhill.” Today, I started a summary of another idea for a completely different novel, a comic urban fantasy; call that one … I can’t think of a cool code name for it right now. Just call it “Project L,” until I think of something cooler. There’s one more idea I may try to hash out before I make up my mind, but I think I’m likely to pick one of these two. Once I make up my mind, I’m going to try the Snowflake Method of outlining the novel; I wrote Meet the Larssons by the seat of my pants, and it needs major restructuring. As unnatural as it feels to think about preparing increasingly detailed outlines before doing the “real” writing, I would really like to avoid having to do this kind of major work on the second draft next time; I hope to limit the revisions to touching up the paint and banging in a couple of loose nails, instead of building an entire addition and moving a number of load-bearing walls.
I’m starting to see other people blogging about doing NaNoWriMo, which starts in a couple of weeks. If you’re doing NaNo, then best of luck to you, and have fun. I know I made the right decision not to do it this year; I want to get back to MTL before December, and I want to have an idea of what the next novel will be as well. I’d also like to finish one or two more short stories by the end of the year. All of that means that NaNo would be a bad idea, and an unnecessary one; I don’t need the kick in the pants to write, I just need to keep doing it. Still, though, it looks like fun, and I like the community (and competitive) spirit that imbues the venture. It does feel weird not to be in the middle of a major writing project. I know I’m going back to MTL soon, but until I do I feel a little at loose ends. I’ve been reading on the train instead of writing, and it just feels wrong, like I’m slacking.
I’m enjoying telling callers and doorbell ringers that I’ve already voted — there’s nothing more I can do for them. I encourage you to vote early if that’s an option for you; here in Chicago, at least, the lines are much shorter than they are on election day, and it means you don’t have to worry about something unexpected preventing you from voting on November 4.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged fall, MTL, Project Downhill, Project L, Running, stats, Sunday, Writing
The Chicago Tribune just endorsed Barack Obama for President, the first Democrat the paper has ever endorsed for President.
Remember to vote early if you can — you never know what could happen to you between now and Election Day. I voted yesterday.
One more reason to vote for Barack: Unfocused Junior told me this evening, “John McCain was the cranky old man who lived on the corner of your block when you were a kid.” I explained that McCain had never lived on my block. “Well, then,” he said, “John McCain is just a cranky old man.” Exactly.
We just had an enjoyable night shouting at the weird smiley cranky man on TV. I was sorry to hear about those damn community organizers and how they’re destroying the fabric of democracy, but maybe it isn’t as bad as all that — apparently the cranky man loved the community organizers before he abhored them (Thanks, Boing Boing!).
I’m traveling on Election Night, and Mrs. Unfocused is … displeased with me. We have spent four presidential election nights together; this would have been the fifth, and the first where we were really enthusiastic about the candidate that might actually win. She is very, very displeased with me.
So she’s told me to tell you that you’re all invited over to watch the returns on November 4, while I’m out of town. We have a few nice bottles of wine we’ve been saving for special occasions; she’s going to break them out, win or lose (it’s possible we opened one of these evening already, and may even have almost finished it). Also, she’s an excellent cook, so you can look forward to lovely hors d’oeuvres — probably all of my favorites, including the bacon-wrapped dates. Damn, those are good. Enjoy. I’ll probably call in a couple of times during the evening, but she won’t stay on the phone long with guests in the house.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged cranky old man, Election, Obama, Politics, unfocused life, Work
The Unfocused Life 