Hope kicks fear's ass

Back in August I was chastised by one of my favorite people, a 70+ year old man, for referring to myself as a cynic. Okay, then, so maybe I'm not technically a cynic. Call me a pessimist, been around the block, seen it all, show me the money. I've worked with and for the dream merchants, studied the stuff, teach it to eager young hucksters, that's how I pull my weight.

But maybe I'm not a cynic after all. Not enough to be sold a little moonshine, anyway. Because that's what last night's 'infomercial' was -- a brilliant, luminiscent, picture-perfect, tone-perfect piece of mass communication. (Click the link to see it if you haven't; read the comments as well.)

Help me, it was a piece of history. History, right in the making. I have never felt affected in this way by any public figure. (Musicians excepted, possibly, as I hear a familiar voice while I type... I don't know, it must have been the roses...) Things will probably get a lot worse before they get better. But last night, I felt as if they might. Things might get better.

I hope they don't kill him.

Scientific progress goes boink

"$4/$5 = x/25 -- find x."

It's not surprising that they ask to use a calculator for this.

When you take into account the facts that:
a) all their i-phones have calculators, and
b) they get it wrong anyway.

Religulous

Bill Maher's new movie -- think of it as a cross between Borat and a Michael Moore film, intelligently done and funny. Pity it's only going to preach to the choir, though (ha ha), and sink without a trace. Still, I'm glad someone did it.

! AGAINST !

Just stopping by to share a couple of comments from the latest post at 538, my new favorite site.

brooklynjoe said...

It's a sad day indeed when the local chapter of "Ohio Christians !Against! Baby-Murdering Muslims For-President" can only muster one rather despondent looking protester. Unfortunately, the photo has been cropped so you can't see his companion protester with the sign that read, "Ohio-Christians !Against! the Misuse of Hyphens and Exclamation-Points!"
October 13, 2008 10:02 PM

Shap said...

Without the hyphen one would be talking about baby muslims who are murderers.

I AM !AGAINST! THAT TOO
October 13, 2008 10:09 PM

Gramps gets philosophical

I've come to expect all kinds of brain-twisters from the GOP-ers this presidential season, but I hadn't thought I'd come across one that was actually thought-provoking. Here's something that the angry old man threw out yesterday:

"What I don't know is what the unexpected will be."

I've been thinking about this all night and I still don't get it. Does that mean he does know what the unexpected currently is, but he's a bit lost about what it will be tomorrow?

QOTD

TPB: "Don't mistreat me. I'm middle class. I'm Sixpack Joe."

(Aw shucks, there I go again. Better start un-rearing my ugly maritime head, or whatever it is that Washington people do.)