Mr. Potter: Look at you. You used to be so cocky. You were going to go out and conquer the world. You once called me "a warped, frustrated, old man!" What are you but a warped, frustrated young man? A miserable little clerk crawling in here on your hands and knees and begging for help. No securities, no stocks, no bonds. Nothin' but a miserable little $500 equity in a life insurance policy.
[Potter chuckles]
I was going to go down to the mall for the inauguration, if only to see the crowd, but when I woke up at 11 and checked online, it seemed that they had shut the place down. So instead of wandering around while Obama spoke, I sat on the couch and watched it on TV like a good American. And then I ordered a pizza.
But yesterday on my walk to work I got about as close to the capitol as the majority of the people did today. If you maximize this photo and squint, you can almost see it!
Then later, a bunch of women were taking pictures with a cardboard cutout of Obama.
Ben's Chili Bowl has modified its Bill-Cosby-Is-The-Only-Person-Who-Eats-Free-Here policy to include the Obama family, but when he visited today he handed the cashier $20 for his $12 meal.
"No thanks," he said. "We're straight." *Sigh*
Also, bread is very messy to prepare, but delicious:
From a 5-year-old's Portland public access cooking show.
Also, for those of you who either thought you would be driving (or biking!) from Arlington to the Inauguration--or anything--in DC on Jan. 20, tough luck! Better hire a limo.
Of all the great election coverage on The Onion, I think this one wins:
In other news, I got my first Royal Flush ever while playing a highly-illegal game of low-stakes Omaha. Look at the sad sack with his Full House! LOSER
When I was 18, I voted for Bob Dole. I was raised in a fairly conservative household, in which Bill Clinton was considered a buffoon (which, of course, he is--just a damned charismatic one). I don't really regret that vote, since I think Bob Dole would've been a funny president. His voice never changes pitch!
But he didn't win, and Clinton became Democratic deity in much the same way that Reagan became Republican deity.
In 2000, I voted for Nader because I was 22 and was convinced the country needed a third option in the form of a crotchety old consumer advocate. The bummer of that situation (aside from the fact that I voted for Nader) was that Nader wasn't on the ballot in Georgia, so my write-in vote was probably the equivalent of throwing the ballot in the trash (his final tally was 13,000, which seems low).
I didn't care for Gore (whose new adoration by Democrats doesn't make any sense to me, because he's still a stiff weirdo who would never win a presidential race), and Bush just seemed to be a throwaway candidate who might be able to surround himself with good enough people to get by. I remember a conversation I had with my mom pretty vividly, wherein she asked what I thought of W--I told her that I really didn't mind him except for his trouble with foreign affairs. That's what I call a prescient bummer.
I didn't vote in 2004, because I thought Kerry was the worst possible choice to run against Bush (he is basically Bush without a sense of humor, plus he is a corpse).
The awesomely brutal part about 2004 was the convention, where the democrats nominated the doomed corpse, while Obama gave the best political speech of my lifetime. I commented to a friend that it was bittersweet to have to wait four years before that dude could be president. The friend laughed.
All this is to say that regardless of what happens in Obama's presidency, the chance to have a leader who can present our country with ideas--not just rhetoric--is ridiculously exciting and refreshing.
Last night at work I turned my back on all my customers and watched his acceptance speech. This passage stood out:
To all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of our world – our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand.The thing that stands out to me in reading the transcript is that the words are good, yes, but without his delivery--really, without him--they could be any other political speech. The awesome thing is that it wasn't.
To those who would tear this world down – we will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security – we support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright – tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from our the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity, and unyielding hope.
Sorry I've been away for a while. I've been busy doing nothing.
During that time, things have happened.
A) My theory about stretching (that it sucks and is stupid, despite my half-hearted attempts) was proven correct. I first came up with this theory when Terry Pendleton joined the Braves in the 90s, bringing with him a super-fangled stretching program. Fact: this program ensured that he pulled a muscle 3 out of ever 7 times he broke into a jog.
B) I provisionally voted. Provisionally because DC doesn't have record of me being registered, even though I was summoned for jury duty like four years ago. Whatevs. At worst, I don't get to be one of the 95% this year.
C) Chick-fil-A still rulz.
D) Tried new/old beer (re-brewing of old beer labels--like shoes--is only going to increase in frequency, I predict) at Red Derby. Verdict: meh. Too sweet. But great packaging, Reading!
E) When one cannot find amazing Banh Mi (which one cannot in DC), what does one do? Get somebody to make it for you, I say.
F) Finally, Frizzesh Fizzootball is on FIRE. Who knew that such little care or concern could help me score 103 points (100 points in anything is good)?! Record now stands at 5-4. 
Shepard Fairey's Obama poster has been ripped off alot (which is only fair since he's done it for a living), but the other night I saw my favorite one yet:
I especially like the ridiculously over-the-top image. She is like a vampire, after all. An adorable, well groomed vampire.
There are tons of them:
This Jobs one seems to be fueling the fire it's making fun of:
Easy target:
Not especially creative:
Awesome:
Somebody's getting their anachronism on:
Huh?
Better:
This is a very strange image of McCain:
Is this even McCain? Are people worried about copyright infringement?
Nope what?
Easier target:
Is it just me, or is this caricature more monkeyish than babyish?
He's a pretty good looking man. It's as if the poster made itself, really.
Jenny's blog, which is always awesome, gets interactive!
Plus, the only reason that not working in an office anymore can be a bummer is that I'm late to see things like this.
There's a new pizza place a couple blocks from us that acts like it's all good and everything so we tried it today. Verdict: it's hell of good. Look: between us we got three slices and a sorbillo and I didn't think to take a picture until this was all that was left:
On the walk home I saw two houses I've been meaning to take pictures of for a while. The pictures didn't turn out so good but so what.
First: A bay window with a green plastic alien wearing an "Impeach Bush" necklace poster. People are shameless.
Second: A large plaster (?) lioness lawn sculpture.
Jenny Miller answers the question I've been wondering about for months.
Best LOLCAT ever
So here we are, in a world where people look at me weird when I tell them that I do enjoy Mariah Carey, because after all who likes Mariah Carey and then this:
Lady is bigger than Elvis, and people are giving me shit? WTF.
Also, please note that John McCain is likely going to pick Mariah Carey as his runningmate.
The only thing I care about in politics is who is and is not left handed. Why, you ask? Because since 1974, every president except for the bad ones has been left handed, and so am I. I will likely be president very soon.
GOOD PRESIDENTS; LEFT HANDED
What is the Post saying about McCain here? I just can't quite figure it out.
Oh yeah. It's that he's really, really short. Thanks for the link, Wonkette!
