Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Does it really matter whether the “Kill him!” was for Obama or Ayers? Either way, it should not have been tolerated. Doubleplus ungood.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Happy to see that “An American Carol” is getting horrid reviews. http://xrl.us/os37a Sad to know that Kelsey Grammer agreed to star in it.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Happy to see that “An American Carol” is getting horrid reviews. http://xrl.us/os37a Sad to know that Kelsey Grammer agreed to star in it.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Sometime between 09:07 and 18:54, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

• Weird Al: Forefather of the YouTube Spoof: To make matters more complicated, whereas Yankovic could once mine such inexhaustible icons as Jackson and Nirvana for laughs, he now has to contend with the likes of Jessica Simpson or Kevin Federline—celebrities who are more or less already self-parodies. Being a music satirist in 2008 is a bit like being a political cartoonist after the Harding administration: too many easy targets, too few sacred idols.
• The New Yorker: The Choice: At a moment of economic calamity, international perplexity, political failure, and battered morale, America needs both uplift and realism, both change and steadiness. It needs a leader temperamentally, intellectually, and emotionally attuned to the complexities of our troubled globe. That leader’s name is Barack Obama.
• Harmony® 510 Advanced Universal Remote: Your coffee table has five remotes. You have a special drawer where you keep them. Wouldn't it be easier to just have one remote? You can. Replace all your remotes with Harmony.
• It’s up to parents to see the writing on the walls: So far there have been 170 graffiti incidents in Kent this year. Wood figures graffiti costs the city more than $50,000 annually. That figure doesn't measure other costs, including the toll it takes on property values, community pride and the community's sense of public safety. "When there's graffiti the perception is there's crime and people feel less safe," Wood says. "We're trying to make people feel safe where they live and do business. There's no area where it's more prevalent. It happens on the East Hill, on the West Hill, downtown." (I wouldn't mind seeing some cleanup under this bridge — Prairie and I walk there pretty frequently, and it's covered in graffiti.)
• Make-Believe Maverick: A closer look at the life and career of John McCain reveals a disturbing record of recklessness and dishonesty: This is the story of the real John McCain, the one who has been hiding in plain sight. It is the story of a man who has consistently put his own advancement above all else, a man willing to say and do anything to achieve his ultimate ambition: to become commander in chief, ascending to the one position that would finally enable him to outrank his four-star father and grandfather. (via Twitter)

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Today’s playlist: nothing newer than 1949. Nice and low-key, lots of old jazz and blues. Great soundtrack for a rainy monday.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Yesterday afternoon, Prairie and I got a call from her sister Hope offering us tickets to the closing night show of The Phantom of the Opera at the Paramount. She’d gotten sick earlier in the day and just wasn’t up to going out, so she and Peter decided to see if we wanted to go. We, of course, were happy to take them (after passing on our sympathies, of course), and headed out for an unexpected but not unwelcome night out at the theater.

I’ve grown up with Phantom, from having the soundtrack nearly as long as I can remember to owning the behind-the-scenes book The Complete Phantom of the Opera to having performed a few of the numbers during my days in the Anchorage Children’s Choir, and this was my second time seeing the show. While not unfamiliar with the show — its nearly impossible to have an interest in modern theater culture and not know about Phantom — this was Prairie’s first opportunity to see it on stage.

The show itself, while enjoyable for the spectacle, wasn’t at all a great show. The performances were good, though I wouldn’t really rate them much better than that, and much of the spectacle felt a little rushed, like you didn’t really have time to appreciate the moment before being whisked off to the next scene. There were no flubs, it certainly wasn’t a bad performance, and we both enjoyed the grandeur of the whole thing. It just wasn’t stellar.

Additionally, we’re curious if we might be more appreciative of the less-expensive balcony seats for our next show at the Paramount. Each time we’ve gone to a show and splurged for floor seats, the sound mix in the theater has been surprisingly bad, with the actors overly loud compared to the music and many of the group numbers turning into a muddled, unintelligible mess. We don’t remember having this issue when we’ve seen shows from the balcony, though, so we’re curious if the acoustics in the Paramount happen to favor the balcony. For our next show, we’re going to stay away from the floor and see what we think.

Lastly, two points that I’ve touched on before but that, unfortunately, still need to be addressed (and, realistically, probably aren’t going to change in the foreseeable future):

It’s truly distressing how few people think of theater as Theater (with a capital ‘t’). Both Prairie and I were brought up to see a night out at a show as something special. It’s not something that happens every day (or even every week or month), and so it’s not something to be taken completely casually. It is something that should be dressed for: I’d argue for good business work clothes at the minimum, if you’re not actually going to take the time to dress up. Above all, jeans and t-shirts? Not acceptable!

The crowd at last nights show, admittedly, was a bit better than we’ve seen at other shows in the past. That said, I still hold that ratty jeans and tracksuits should be unacceptable at the theater.

One last thing: a standing ovation should be given for extraordinarily good performances. Not for every performance you happen to be at. Not for slightly above average performances. And certainly not for performances with flubbed lines, broken props, and bad sound. I’ve noticed this trend a lot lately, where it’s more rare to be at a performance that doesn’t get a standing ovation than to be at a performance that does. That’s really not how this is supposed to work, folks. A standing ovation is something special, to be reserved for those truly stand-out performances, not used for every performance you bother to attend.

Prairie and I just sat in our seats last night. The people around us probably thought we were being rude (ironic, given that I had to shoot the twit on my left a few glares when she started singing along with the show), but it just wasn’t an ovation-worthy performance. Good, yes; worthy of applause and appreciation, yes; worthy of a whoopin’ and hollerin’ standing ovation? Certainly not.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Sometime between October 3rd and October 5th, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

• Meet Your New Governor (Seven Reasons to Fear Dino Rossi): Rossi doesn't just oppose abortion rights. He opposes all reproductive rights—from students' right to learn the facts about pregnancy, STDs, and birth control, to women's right to buy contraceptives with a prescription. Rossi opposes requiring pharmacies to stock emergency contraception, which works by preventing fertilization, because some pharmacists assert, falsely, that it causes abortions. And in the late 1990s, as a state senator, Rossi voted against requiring prescription drug plans to cover regular oral contraceptives.
• Custom My Little Ponies: I'm quite fond of My Little Alien and My Little Edward Scissorhands, myself.
• It’s Official: GOP Ticket Now “Winky and Wrinkly”: Forget the tight stripper skirt, forget the metallic eyeshadow inappropriate for anyone over the age of 40, forget the cloying sitcom delivery, the lies, the cruel and calculated needling of Biden by calling his college professor wife a "school teacher" and saying "she'll get her reward in Heaven" (to a man whose first wife died in a car accident) — she's an idiot.
• Sarah Palin Debate Flow Chart: Funny because it's true!
• The First Sound Bites: Whether for profit or prestige, the 1908 campaign was the first in which presidential candidates recorded their own voices for the mass market. “We now have Records by Mr. Bryan and Mr. Taft, so that no matter how the November election may result, we shall have Records by the next President,” an advertisement in the September 1908 Edison Phonograph Monthly exclaimed. “Now, for the first time, one can introduce the rival candidates for the Presidency in one’s own home, can listen to their political views, expressed in their real voices, and make comparisons.” (via Slashdot)

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Prairie’s sister isn’t feeling well, which sucks…but we get their tix to Phantom of the Opera tonight! My 2nd or 3rd time, Prairie’s 1st.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

A few weekends ago, Prairie and I went down to visit family south of us: her mom and sister in Vancouver, WA; my brother and his family in Corvallis, OR; then Prairie’s dad and grandpa in Woodland, WA on our way back up to Seattle.

I’ve finally finished putting all the photos from the weekend up in a photoset. Here’s my nephews Paul and Noah to kick things off!

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Retweeting: text questions for Sarah Palin to 69866 with ‘ASK’ then the question, then watch the billboard here: http://is.gd/3wDM

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

I really want to change my screenname everywhere to “Famous Person.” Which then makes me wonder how many people are doing exactly that.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Best endorsement EVAR: Palin endorsed by “Famous Person” http://xrl.us/osss7 (via http://xrl.us/osstb Twitterers)

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Sometime between October 1st and October 3rd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

• Vice-Presidential Debate - Biden and Palin - Video and Transcript - Election Guide 2008: The NYT has a very nice interactive video and text transcript for the VP debate (and, from the looks of it, the existing and future Presidential debates, campaign speeches, and more). (via Waxy)
• Saturday is voter registration deadline: Would-be voters have until Saturday — 30 days before the November general elections — to register by mail, in person or online. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by the Oct. 4 cutoff, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office.
• Roger Ebert: You didn’t ask me about the debate, but…: Yes, she wins high marks for emerging from the debate still standing and still smiling. Polls show that she performed better than a great majority of viewers thought she would. My concern here is not with the substance of which either candidate said; that would be political. My concern is with the performances. Watching the debate, I was reminded of a famous observation by Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great 18th century English critic, who went to witness with his own eyes a woman giving a sermon in a church. This was unheard of in his day. "A woman's preaching," he told his friend James Boswell, "is like a dog's standing on its hind legs. It is not done well, but one is surprised to find it done at all."
• Inability to sanitize live carp ends fishy foot treatments: Bui was personally delivered a letter Thursday informing her of the agency's decision, which was based on a state law that all implements used in pedicures had to be "sanitized, disinfected, or disposed of after each service to protect salon customers from the possibility of disease and infections." "You can clean files and other equipment, but there is just no way to sanitize live fish," said Christine Anthony, a spokeswoman for the agency.
• Chinese gymnasts to keep medals: China's gold-medal gymnasts were old enough to compete in the Beijing Olympics, the sport's governing body said Wednesday, though it still had questions about the team that competed at the 2000 Sydney Games.
• Fox News Snags Palin’s First Post-Debate Interview: [Referencing her earlier interviews,] Palin was annoyed that Couric saw that her job was to flush out for the American people more information about the character of a relatively unknown candidate for the vice presidency, and not to provide Palin with a nationally-televised forum for spouting McCain campaign talking points.
• Think about the Supreme Court when you vote for president: Pro-choice groups have been crying wolf for so long that it's hard to believe that the wolf is actually at the door. Or at least the border of South Dakota. There, a full-tilt abortion ban on the November ballot — with high-hurdle exceptions only for rape, incest and the life of a woman — is pointed directly at Roe and targeted to arrive at the Supreme Court in time to greet a new justice. If what happens in South Dakota doesn't stay in South Dakota, a woman's right will depend on whether she has enough gas to drive to the next, or the next, or the next state.
• A fashion designer I don’t know (Michael Kors) draws inspiration for his fall line from a show I’ve never watched (Mad Men), but I love this quote:: Aren’t we ready for that again? For some maturity? I have to tell you, I am sick and tired of hair down to there and crotch-high hemlines. It’s so obvious. For Fall I was really trying to bring back buttoned-up sexy—-think Grace Kelly. So cool, so poised. She never reveals a thing and you can’t take your eyes off of her. I mean, watch “Rear Window.” That’s smart sexy; it’s interesting sexy. And it’s grown-up sexy. You want a tip on looking hot? Wear reading glasses and a fitted dress. Simple. (via Kottke)
• Did inner-tube robber use Craigslist in heist?: Inflation has certainly been good to one crafty robber. Monroe police are searching for a man who robbed an armored-car guard Tuesday morning then fled with the money — down a nearby creek on an inner tube. Police say the robber also may have recruited a host of unwitting decoys through a Craigslist ad.
• Seattle Lands a Women’s Lingerie Football Team: An offshoot of the uber-popular Lingerie Bowl halftime show that's appeared during Super Bowls past, there's now a fledgling league of extraordinary women who will play tackle football against one another in their underwear. Tryouts for the Seattle team, the Mist, are this Friday at Greenlake, although official league play won't start for another year and games will be played indoors, ala arena football. It'll be really interesting to see how this goes over in Seattle. (via 2hrlunch)

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Sometime between October 1st and October 3rd, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!

• Vice-Presidential Debate - Biden and Palin - Video and Transcript - Election Guide 2008: The NYT has a very nice interactive video and text transcript for the VP debate (and, from the looks of it, the existing and future Presidential debates, campaign speeches, and more). (via Waxy)
• Saturday is voter registration deadline: Would-be voters have until Saturday — 30 days before the November general elections — to register by mail, in person or online. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by the Oct. 4 cutoff, according to the Washington Secretary of State's office.
• Roger Ebert: You didn’t ask me about the debate, but…: Yes, she wins high marks for emerging from the debate still standing and still smiling. Polls show that she performed better than a great majority of viewers thought she would. My concern here is not with the substance of which either candidate said; that would be political. My concern is with the performances. Watching the debate, I was reminded of a famous observation by Dr. Samuel Johnson, the great 18th century English critic, who went to witness with his own eyes a woman giving a sermon in a church. This was unheard of in his day. "A woman's preaching," he told his friend James Boswell, "is like a dog's standing on its hind legs. It is not done well, but one is surprised to find it done at all."
• Inability to sanitize live carp ends fishy foot treatments: Bui was personally delivered a letter Thursday informing her of the agency's decision, which was based on a state law that all implements used in pedicures had to be "sanitized, disinfected, or disposed of after each service to protect salon customers from the possibility of disease and infections." "You can clean files and other equipment, but there is just no way to sanitize live fish," said Christine Anthony, a spokeswoman for the agency.
• Chinese gymnasts to keep medals: China's gold-medal gymnasts were old enough to compete in the Beijing Olympics, the sport's governing body said Wednesday, though it still had questions about the team that competed at the 2000 Sydney Games.
• Fox News Snags Palin’s First Post-Debate Interview: [Referencing her earlier interviews,] Palin was annoyed that Couric saw that her job was to flush out for the American people more information about the character of a relatively unknown candidate for the vice presidency, and not to provide Palin with a nationally-televised forum for spouting McCain campaign talking points.
• Think about the Supreme Court when you vote for president: Pro-choice groups have been crying wolf for so long that it's hard to believe that the wolf is actually at the door. Or at least the border of South Dakota. There, a full-tilt abortion ban on the November ballot — with high-hurdle exceptions only for rape, incest and the life of a woman — is pointed directly at Roe and targeted to arrive at the Supreme Court in time to greet a new justice. If what happens in South Dakota doesn't stay in South Dakota, a woman's right will depend on whether she has enough gas to drive to the next, or the next, or the next state.
• A fashion designer I don’t know (Michael Kors) draws inspiration for his fall line from a show I’ve never watched (Mad Men), but I love this quote:: Aren’t we ready for that again? For some maturity? I have to tell you, I am sick and tired of hair down to there and crotch-high hemlines. It’s so obvious. For Fall I was really trying to bring back buttoned-up sexy—-think Grace Kelly. So cool, so poised. She never reveals a thing and you can’t take your eyes off of her. I mean, watch “Rear Window.” That’s smart sexy; it’s interesting sexy. And it’s grown-up sexy. You want a tip on looking hot? Wear reading glasses and a fitted dress. Simple. (via Kottke)
• Did inner-tube robber use Craigslist in heist?: Inflation has certainly been good to one crafty robber. Monroe police are searching for a man who robbed an armored-car guard Tuesday morning then fled with the money — down a nearby creek on an inner tube. Police say the robber also may have recruited a host of unwitting decoys through a Craigslist ad.
• Seattle Lands a Women’s Lingerie Football Team: An offshoot of the uber-popular Lingerie Bowl halftime show that's appeared during Super Bowls past, there's now a fledgling league of extraordinary women who will play tackle football against one another in their underwear. Tryouts for the Seattle team, the Mist, are this Friday at Greenlake, although official league play won't start for another year and games will be played indoors, ala arena football. It'll be really interesting to see how this goes over in Seattle. (via 2hrlunch)

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Okay, done with the debate. Survivor time!

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

If Chrome is my default browser, why does clicking links in twhirl open IE? Windows drives me up the wall. Don’t even know where to look.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Wow. CBS is showing one of those “mood tracker” lines, and Palin plummeted on the Iraq “white flag of surrender” line.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

I’m hoping that Biden will be given the win, but guessing that it’ll be called another tie. Palin managed to sound halfway coherent.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

And, that wraps that up. Palin did better than her Couric interviews, but still makes me want to bang my head against the table.

Originally published at eclecticism. You can comment here or there.

Did #palin just say McCain’s “the man we need to leave”? Slip-up, sure, but funny. If I heard her right.