As they were coming out, I realized last night that I was glad Hillary Clinton wasn't in the Veep slot on the Dem side. I know many of you reading this don't like Clinton -- I do -- but that wasn't why I was glad. If she had been, I foresaw the debates being labeled a "catfight" and gender politics going back 30 years, even if only for an evening.

As for the debate itself, Palin didn't screw up as badly as she had in TV interviews. That's about all I could say about it. Biden was composed and honest. Yes, he flubbed a couple facts, but not as many as Palin -- and that's impressive, when you consider that Palin didn't list many facts (though she lied several times about Obama).

She didn't answer any questions. When she was asked about her weaknesses, she talked about her strengths. When asked if she agreed with an assessment, she said, "no," and immediately started talking about another topic without explaining anything about that "no".

She came off as "folksy," I suppose, but to me, at least, she rang a little false. It seemed rehearsed. The constant winking into the camera, the phrases like "doggone it" and "nucular"... and how many times did she use the word "maverick"? I could go the rest of my life without hearing that phrase. She used it enough last night to give me my quota for 70 more years.

In particular, launching into the "John McCain is a maverick" speech just after Biden had a very human moment... that seemed particularly crass to me.

In the end, though, while Palin managed some damage control, she didn't prevent Biden from coming across as exceedingly knowledgeable and likable, and she didn't turn her ticket's negative polling direction around. At best for her ticket, the debate was a draw... and when her ticket is sinking lower and lower in the polls, she needed to turn the losses around -- not merely slow the speed at which the Titanic was sinking. Which is all she accomplished last night.

McCain now really has three chances -- the last two debates (both of which will address some of Obama's strengths, after the last debate addressed his greatest weakness according to the American people), and an October Surprise. Failing those options, his last chance is to get close enough in the polls again to steal the election through voter fraud. The Republicans are already trying to keep people from voting in some areas. Students in Florida were warned not to vote as they'd lose their student loans, for example. (To be fair, I've also heard that the Dems were trying to keep some McCain mail-in ballots from being accepted -- the court ruled to allow them, and I'm glad. That was the right choice.)

What pleased me the most was looking at projection sites and realizing that if we A) define battleground states as states in which a lead by a candidate is less than 5 points, and B) give all those battleground states to McCain... we have an electoral tie. Obama-supporters can't be complacent... but at the same time, it's good to see.

Last night, we had someone come to our door, stumping for Gregoire.

Now, I don't think Gregoire is an incredible, amazing candidate. However, she's generally voted in ways I've appreciated... and her opponent is a crook. That makes things pretty easy.

So we had a pleasant conversation about Gregoire and Obama, and the woman at the door commented about what a friendly neighborhood this is. She also talked about Initiative 1029, which would require certification, improved training, and background checks for home caregivers. Sounds like a good idea, but I haven't had a chance to research it yet.

Any of my Washington friends know anything about I-1029?

Do you understand what this whole "bailout" thing is?

If not, check out this gentleman's explanation on my friend quipper's journal. He explains why the bailout's failure is a bad thing is easy-to-understand language.

Check it out.

Edit: This post may be even better.

We've had another terrorist attack on American soil.

You won't see it described that way. But that's what it was. There were no fatalities, but the motivation was clear.

But this won't get the news play that a Muslim poisoning a Christian church would get. Particularly if they gassed said Christian church on Easter Sunday.

It's horrible.

I found the mosque's e-mail address and sent them the following note:

( My letter: )

Edit: Apparently, the local police say it was not a hate crime... because the people who did it didn't say anything before they did it. Since they didn't say it was a hate crime, it wasn't.

...wait, what?

( No, really. Muppets and politics. )

1) Free Obama pins, for those who want them.

2) The Large Hadron Collider was fired today, but no collisions were scheduled. That's not until October 21st... just a little over a week before my birthday. So the universe will be destroyed as a birthday gift. Awesome. ;)

3) There is no number 3.

4) Fighting off a cold. My brain just isn't around right now.

5) I saw a fantastic movie the other day: Fido, the heartwarming tale of a boy and his zombie. My housemate Selene showed it to us, and it was fantastic. I then showed it to my brother, and he turned to me even as the opening credits were rolling to tell me how much he loved the movie. I strongly recommend it. It's got some violent moments (it's a zombie movie, after all), but for the most part, it's more like... Lassie, in all it's 1950's gory glory.

6) Ending a 3.5 year Star Wars tabletop RPG campaign this Saturday. Should be fun.

7) Still waiting on confirmation on my job for the year. Keeping fingers crossed. Some wires got crossed between the principal and myself, and though I explained the misunderstanding, he hasn't replied in a couple weeks, and we're coming up on the date I'd be starting.

8) Several good friends are in my thoughts and prayers right now. One is dealing with their mother's suicide. Another is dealing with the news that he may lose his hearing entirely. Others are dealing with other less-difficult but still stressful situations, such as facing potentially losing their job, or dealing with their mother's illness. All of you... let me know if there's anything I can do.

That's Gavin's life in a nutshell!

A couple more real issues about Palin.

Palin is publicly a racist. LA Progressive (among others) reports that she was heard saying publicly, and loudly, "So Sambo beat the bitch" when she heard that Obama defeated Clinton. Other reports of her off-color comments are coming out -- this is not just one woman's word against hers, but repeated racist comments, being revealed from many local residents, even from her supporters.

Palin lied about the sale of the governor's plane, which has been one of the Republican talking points. The story from the Republican convention was that she sold the plane on Ebay for a gain. The Washington Post reports that, while she did put it on Ebay, she couldn't get the asking price, so instead she sold it for a loss... to someone who had given Palin campaign contributions. Her story is an out-and-out lie.

Frankly, while her speech on Wednesday night was certainly fiery and aggressive, it was low on actual issues, and returned to the divisive party politics that have been tearing this country apart for decades. Personally, I thought her attempts to insult Obama by insulting volunteer organizers was disgusting, but maybe that's just me... I think volunteer organizers do good work, and have actual responsibilities.

At the rate these scandals have been breaking, I expect another update with another scandal or two within a couple days.

In news that should surprise absolutely no one, I am quite liberal in my political viewpoints, and I'm thrilled to be casting my vote for Obama in November. So, with that bias in mind, allow me to share a few things about Sarah Palin, McCain's running mate, that you may or may not know.

Please note that I'll be staying away from the non-issues like her husband's DUI from 20 years ago. Her daughter's pregnancy would be a non-issue, save for the fact that she runs on an abstinence-only, anti-abortion platform... and we can see how well that's working out for her. The issue of whether or not she's a secessionist is up in the air (there are reports that she or her husband were once members of a political party that wants Alaska to secede from the union, possibly as recently as last year), so I won't address that one yet. I also didn't think Obama's pastor was really an issue (and I saw past the rhetoric to see what he was trying to say), so I won't get into Palin's pastor or his political-meets-fire-and-brimstone messages, but if you're interested, hey, feel free to look it up. It's fascinating stuff.

These are the issues I see as having actual merit thus far:

1) Palin wishes to have books banned from public libraries. Time reports that when she was the mayor of Wasilla, she asked the librarian how to ban books from the library. When the librarian balked at this, Palin attempted to have her fired for not "supporting the Mayor's office." This, combined with the firing of a police chief without warning or reason (also as mentioned in the linked article), caused her to nearly be recalled as the mayor.

2) She appears to have used her position to attempt to fire people she doesn't like. Like the librarian in the above story, she has fired people originally hired by her political opponents in small mayoral non-partisan positions (see the link above), for no reason given. She also fired her ex-brother-in-law from a state trooper position during his acrimonious divorce from her sister.

3) She slashed funding for providing assistance to teenage mothers. The Washington Post reports that she used line-item veto power to cut funding to a project that would give unwed mothers a place to live while they develop the skills they need to survive in their new situations. She is a staunch foe of keeping abortions legal, she is a vocal opponent of sex education (beyond abstinence-only), and yet... when these two aspects lead to a natural result (teen moms), she cuts funding for helping those people. And speaking of which...

4) She opposes abortion's legality in any situation save the health of the mother, including cases of incest or rape. She declared her stance even when Alaska was suffering twice the rape rate as in the rest of the country. Huffington Post reports that even if her underage daughter was raped, she would not allow the daughter to abort the child.

5) She is not the fiscal conservative that she claims to be. Politico reports that she, "racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla — that amounts to $3,000 per resident. She argues that the debt was needed to fund improvements." I addition, LA Times reports that she also currently opposes an earmark system... a system she once exploited to earn Wasilla $26.9 million dollars just between 2000 and 2003. There's also something starting to come out about her not reporting on a car wash business that she was a part of.

6) She has lied about her voting record. Reuters reports that, despite her claim at the RNC that she did not support a bridge between Ketchikan and their airport on Gravina Island, she was one of the only people vocally supporting the bridge... while she was campaigning in Ketchikan. Similarly, she's not the "maverick" that "takes on corruption" like the McCain campaign is painting her. She's got a lot of ties to Ted "the internet is a series of tubes" Stevens, who is neck-deep in all kinds of corruption charges at the moment.

All these issues combine to show me a politician who regularly abuses her position, lies about matters of public record, and has planks in her political platforms that either clearly don't work or are otherwise against the Constitution itself. That's before we get to the standard neo-con lines on global warming or lack of care for the environment (she supports shooting wolves from helicopters, for example).

Please... don't be distracted by the non-issues involving Palin's personal life. If we are to achieve a real and honest dialogue in this nation about our political system and how to resolve issues, we can't get caught up in non-issues. The real issue is... what sort of leader would this person be? If McCain were to die in office (a real possibility with his health being what it is), is this someone who we would want running the nation? Picking possibly as many as three Supreme Court Justices?

Okay, so I just got offered a position for the new school year.

The bad news:

I'm covering for a teacher who is being deployed. I will hope and pray that he comes home safely.

It's not a permanent placement -- it would last from October 5th until approximately the end of the school year, most likely.

The good news:

8th grade humanities -- language arts and social studies. My favorite subjects to teach.

It's at a school I enjoy teaching at, and where I already know most of the teachers in the department -- and get along well with them.

It's most of the school year -- which means benefits and summertime pay.

When the school year is over, if there's a position opening up at the same school, I'll be one of the first people in line for the job... since the principal will then know me.

This, overall, is a freakin' YAY!

The latest Star Wars movie -- really, just a theatrical release of the pilot for an upcoming Star Wars TV show -- came out last Friday. Expectedly, I went to see it on opening day (I'm nothing if not predictable). Now, I love Star Wars in general, so, really, it shouldn't be surprising that I enjoyed it. Heck, I even enjoy the Holiday Special, even if it's just to mock how bad and terrible it is, and torture other people with it.

So I won't review the movie here. I will, however, say that there were a few things that I was amused/pleased to see.

A) A pink R2 droid, R2-KT, made a brief cameo. This is her first appearance -- but, as a fan-made character, it was nice to see. It's particularly nice to see when you know the origin of this fan character. Click on the character's name above, and read the "Behind the Scenes" entry for the character on Wookieepedia. It's bittersweet.

B) Several years ago, I ran a Star Wars tabletop game in which the characters found an abandoned temple on top of steep cliffs on a jungle world. This world was just inside a region of space called "Wild Space," and I guessed that it was close to Tatooine. The characters used this abandoned temple as a base. This was completely my own creation, I should note.

This movie takes place 20-25 years before those characters found this temple I created. In it, the movie's characters get involved in a battle on a jungle world just inside Wild Space (which, it turns out, is a short jaunt away from Tatooine). In this battle, most of the action takes place in an abandoned temple on top of very steep cliffs.

I should note that the temple I invented had the same number of ship landing pads as this movie had, too.

Ah, Karl Jung and your collective unconscious. How we love you.

I loved the new characters this movie introduced -- including the FABULOUS uncle of Jabba the Hutt (emphasis on FABulous). But I particularly loved the new kid sidekick -- a trope that, let's face it, can be really annoying if done poorly. In this case, the character was entertaining, useful, but flawed... what any good character should be.

So, yes, unsurprisingly, I enjoyed the heck out of it. And I will own it when it's released on DVD, and I'm looking forward to the TV series now. But that's something I could have predicted well before I saw it.

My niece tagged me!

Here are her rules:

1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

( My six unspectacular quirks: )

And I tag... six people reading this that would like to be tagged.

Love you, Mom. :)

Got a message today from someone at a game I used to play at. He was informing me that he was "resolving" a "plot" (it was actually character development), undoing the character development I had set up back when I played there. I found that... unsurprising, really. There's a reason I left the game, after all. Disappointing, however? Sure.

See, I roleplay because I love stories. I collect stories. I have books pouring out of our house and into the garage. I collect movies. I play video games, not for the graphics or the gameplay, but for the plot. I love to write. Roleplaying is no different for me.

I love forming stories and seeing characters grow and evolve. I love roleplaying because I love the collaborative effort of it. Some growth is important to hold my interest. Different characters grow at different rates -- my favorite fictional character, Captain America, grows at a snail's pace, but grow he does. Nothing bugs me more than a character who never really grows, but just remains completely stagnant.

A character choosing to adopt a baby is no more a "plot" to be resolved than Spider-Man's marriage is a "plot" to be resolved. It's character growth. (Of course, Spider-Man's marriage was recently "resolved" in comics by having Peter Parker make a deal with Satan to undo it. Go figure.) Not everyone feels that way, and that's fine. I'm just disappointed when something I built up for everyone to enjoy gets torn down. It's not mine anymore -- and in truth, it never really was "mine" at all -- but it's still disappointing to hear about.

I have a different game now, and I enjoy it much more than I ever did the old game. But it's still disappointing... it's like... working on a sand castle with someone, building a parapet you were particularly proud of, and then having someone kicking it down as soon as you walk away.

But in the end... it's all sand. It's all just stories.

So... question for the rest of you... if you roleplay... why do you do it? I'm curious what brings you to the hobby.

Now that is something to consider.

...more on this later. Definitely.

(Is it possible I could be more obscure? Probably not... but I'm having difficulty putting the thoughts into words at the moment, so it's probably best I process for a bit before talking about it.)

I've seen two movies in the last two days. Time for a capsule review.

( Get Smart )

( WALL-E )

Both are worth seeing and are enjoyable, though I enjoyed WALL-E far more.

A brilliant comedian, yes, but also an incredible linguist.

Goodbye, George Carlin.

So Selene got the expansions for Last Night on Earth, and I painted up the figures for the expansion this evening, so I decided to get an image of all the minis I painted up for it.

( Geekiness Ahoy! )

A Monkey-God has been made chairman of a business school!

I want to arrange a business meeting.

We could groom each other, fling poo at passersby, consume a banana or two...

This could be a new business lunch-meeting model!