No Posts until Monday

Because...I'm on vacation.  Every girl needs a break, and this is mine.  So! Watch some bad TV for me, I'll have a mojito on the beach for you.

Toodles!

iThink the white glow...

...hypnotizes you to a point of blind ignorance! I'm so sick of freaking Apple.  After going to one of the most expensive private universities in the country (as the poor kid on fellowship) for graduate school, the past two years of my life has been filled with iPhones, iBooks, and iThinktheworldrevolves around me.  So many Apple lovers all over the place, usually at Starbucks or in plazas on campus, using every opportunity to demean lowly PCs.  So when the iPad came out, the foam around my mouth grew thicker.

I'm not tech geek or anything, but isn't an iPad just a GIANT iPhone or iPod Touch? Or a small computer with no keyboard? I didn't understand the hype, and to be frank, I still don't.  I just don't understand the benefit of carrying around this awkward sheet of glass in your backpack that is too awkward to use like a computer, but too big to truly be handheld.  Why the anger you ask? Because I read this ignorant article and thought "no sh*t!" and felt the need to vent.

Essentially, the iPad is great because it preys on the ignorant, I mean loyal Apple fans as they will blindly buy any new Apple product, despite already owning a similar (if not superior product). 

 

However, for me my iPod circa 2006 is working just fine (despite a few hits and foreign travel...at which point I would like to not that most newer Apple products can't stand being breathed on too hard, let alone dropped) and I plan to use it until it dies, and when I do decide to upgrade I'll get the iPod touch for its wireless connectivity (I don't like the iPhone, just because I value separate devices).  Basically, its just bird-brained (or apple-brained) to own a iPad, iBook, and iPhone because they are the same f-ing device.  Okay, maybe you can have an iBook and iPhone...in which case you definitely don't need an iPad.

Grey's Season Finale Tonight!

Check out this little preview of the Grey's Season Finale:



For those who haven't been following, the crazy mf-er shooting up the place is a disgruntled family member of a patient.  Long story short, one of the interns messed up something leading to his wife going brain dead at which point Derek decided to pull the plug.  Crazy mf-er goes and gets a lawyer, and after brawling with the administration they all side with Derek and just apologize to the man.  Apparently this pisses him off. I would like to note how American it is to just go shooting up sh*t when you're unhappy about it, its like apple pie at this point.

Anyhow, my predictions for deaths:
--Meredith, because killing Derek is too obvious
--Meredith's unborn child
--Owen
--Arizona
--The Chief (or old Chief rather)

My predictions for injuries:
--Yang
--Bailey
--The guy with the gorgeous eyes from Mercy West
--Little Grey

I will be watching and you should too! Screw DVR and watch it live, its a finale people!

How can a song about dying be so beautiful?

This song is a bit of a downer, I'll admit it, but for some odd, eerie reason, I find it beautiful.  Plus, its been stuck in my head since David Bazan covered it at his living room show, so enjoy.

Mhmm, I bet

I wonder how much BP paid scientists to say this.  I find it hard to believe since le oil has met the Gulf current loop that would propel the gunk up the east coast.  Even if its true, I need BP to be more aggressive in saving my oceans because I am not impressed with the oil straw despite an alleged 40 percent capture rate.

Fist Pumps, Guidos, Orange Skin, and Big Hair

Is there anything good in New Jersey? According to this hilarious parody...no.

It's Brewing

The Tea Partiers are steeping, and sadly gaining Congressional seats, along with average Republicans as the tea baggers go increasingly rabid in their pursuit for Washington in November.

I think its important to note that Specter was once a Republican who switched to the Democratic party following the wave of liberalism and Obama lust.  He followed the trend in an effort to gain political capital and popularity.  With that said, I can't help but wonder if Rand Paul is capitalizing off of the popularity of the tea party "movement," and is in fact a more moderate Republican like his father Ron.  I guess only time will tell.

Moving on, I blame the village idiot, Sarah Palin, for a lot of this (I mean look at her, don't you think she has a touch of the crazy eye?).  For a woman who barely graduated from college, lacks an advanced degree, can't form a complete sentence on the fly, and butchers Snooki's infamous bump, I just need her to shut up and sit down.  Instead, she's riling up the ignorant masses of the rural U.S. to vote for policies that ultimately hurt them.  Why's that you ask? Here's why.  Despite an allegedly diverse following, a majority of tea partiers are White (well duh), older men, whom earn higher than average incomes, and claim fundamental Christianity to be their worship of choice.  Additionally, there is the perception among tea drinkers that the country is moving toward socialism.*Bottom line: The tea party movement is composed of old white men who are afraid the black man (President Obama) is going to go all Robin Hood and steal their ridiculous amounts of wealth.

So given the bottom line I find it odd when middle class to poor Americans rock out to the message of this movement.  Lets look at Pennsylvania, a state with right lean and a number of official tea groups.  The poverty rate is 15.1 percent, only three percentage points below the national average, and the poverty rate among whites in the state is only 0.5 percent lower than the national average.  The number of whites uninsured is also ridiculous given their proportion of the population; nearly 25 percent of whites lack health insurance which means of the states nearly 8.5 million white citizens, a bit over 2 million of them lack coverage. Given these social statistics, it would seem that the ideals of the tea party would not be exactly be beneficial and perhaps universal health care and other social programs would be helpful, but hey what's common sense?

Adding to the zoo, married Conservative House Member Mark Souder has decided to step down after a hot and sexy...well probably a lame and dull....affair with a staffer (whom was also married).  I just think its HI-Larious when Republicans get stuck in these sex scandals because they usually run on that whole family values crap.  Anyhow, check out his peace out:



So, thats a quick wrap up of the pendulum shift, I just hope it calms down by 2012...

*It seems that no one knows the definition of socialism, so as a Political Science degree holder I thought I'd clarify.  Socialism is a political philosophy that encompasses various theories of economic organization based on either public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation. (Source: Wikipedia)  Cuba and the former Soviet Union are the closest things to socialism that has existed, however, capitalistic tenets remain. So, all the baggers need to chill.

Vote for Poplitics!

So I have this wicked dream of becoming a blogging sensation that travels the world.  In order to do that I need your help!


Poplitics is in the running for the 2010 Bloggers Choice Awards, so please vote for me! 

Blog name: Poplitics
Blog URL: www.populitics.blogspot.com

You have to register on the site in order to vote, which is a bit of a pain but I know you've all got email addresses used exclusively for junk mail. So use that gimp email address and send me to victory!

Gleeful for Glee! (Part 1)

Okay, I was really starting to dislike Glee despite being an ardent Gleek. But tonight things turned around and I'm Gleekier than ever! Sadly, due to family visiting I only caught the end of the episode (womp womp).  So I'll first sum up the things that made me giddy, then I'll watch the episode tomorrow on Hulu, and finally I'll write Part 2 of the Gleeful for Glee post.  Sound good? Great!

--Yay to Artie being able to walk...well in his dreams.  But I loved his little Safety Dance montage. But I'm sad his legs don't work.  Also, I'm not too impressed with his voice...maybe it was just that song? I wouldn't know because he hardly gets to sing.
--Woah! to the whole Rachel's long lost mother thing.  Is that her mom in real life, because those two were like identical! Creepy!
--Yipee! to next week's Gaga's inspired episode! I love how Kurt was stomping his leg on the ground a la Rocky Horror picture show (at the :26 mark).  My sister and I laughed (and imitated this) for a good couple of minutes.



Anyhow, I'll be back tomorrow with full commentary on the return of the Glee I fell in love with.

Most Epic Save (and Win!) Ever

This is a pretty epic fire back from Lance Baxter, whom got dragged through the mud for drunk dialing radical, right-wing Freedom Works.  During this drunk dial he called tea partiers "mentally retarded," something that Micheal Stone feels is an insult to the retarded (I agree).  Granted, he's got a good voice (hence his Geico voiceovers) but really, this man is HI-LARIOUS and needs to team up with Colbert or Stewart and do something great.

My favorite part is at the 2:10 mark, and that generally summarizes how I feel when trapped in conversations with right wingers. I also enjoyed the Latino man asking (in Spanish) about police using German accents when asking for proof of citizenship! Love it, I'm glad that other people think that this is is absolutely xenophobic, rather than an issue of national security.

To close this amazing piece of "F-you Fox News," the descending tea bags and fireworks are a good close.  Bravo D.C. Baxter, Bravo!

Swagger Wagon

Brilliant marketing.  However, when I have babies, I plan to roll around in this.

Ignorant + Racist = Pennsylvania Cop

Attention white people, please stop blaming "African-American males" for your issues.  Susan Smith, runaway brides, bank robbers (well thats different because he posed as a black man) now this dumbass.

I'm still not clear why he shot himself?

Oh no they didn't.

The red-headed stepchild of Poplitics (cough cough, THIEF!)

Corporations are not people

Okay, this BP thing is about to make me go and start a more militant version of Greenpeace.  In fact, look at my people at work.  PS: I'd love a copy of that press release.

Anyhow, after weeks this thing is stilllll freeaaaaking GUSHING!  Ludicrous.  Now, if you recall, I wrote an entry about a week ago, that has one of the few images that shows how much oil is pouring into the ocean.  Given the horror of that video, it makes sense that BP representatives, executives, and managers only want you to see that hellish orange sheen lurking to the Gulf shore.



I'm a bootleg body language expert.  Now if you take a look, BP's COO Doug Suttles is looking down and shaking his head no.  What does that mean? He's lying.  Now while the COO lies, the PR machine is putting up all types of videos about "responsible" and "responsive they are."  Bullocks and poppycock.  I thought that maybe if I used British slang these idiots would rub two brain cells together, make a little heat, and do more to plug the gush and not with trash! Who's ignorant idea was that?!

This weekend I watched Black Wave on Planet Green, a documentary about the Exxon Spill of 1989.  It was depressing.  In Alaska, over twenty years later oil is still present in the soil, along the rocks, and washing on the shore.  The Valdez disaster pales in comparison to the Gulf gush in my opinion.  Even though I'm horrified by these some experts and scientists assert that this isn't a big deal and has been sensationalized...I'm sure they will retire nicely thanks to BP.

So, screw you Tony Hayward, Rupert Bondy, Sally Bott, Iain Conn, Robert Dudley, Byron Grote, Andy Inglis,  Lamar McKay, and Steve Westwell* for ruining my beaches and raising the price of local seafood.

*I spelled out the executive management staff of BP because I feel that it is important to realize corporations are not people, and as a society we need to push to make each of these individuals responsible for their poor decisions based upon financial greed.

Also, I love Keith Olberman.  But Keith, Sarah wasn't the only idiot, she was just the loudest.

Live in a Living Room | David Bazan House Show

Everyone knows that I love David Bazan.  His gritty and booming voice, melodic and dissonant chords, and matter-of-fact and story telling musical musings puts him as one of the most often played musician on my iPod and in my car on these things called "CDs" (not everyone got the iPod jack option).  Over the years, I have seen Sir Bazan many times live, the first being in Charleston.  At this show he was playing as part of Pedro the Lion, so I was merely intrigued as I really did not know much about him.  My second Bazan siting was at New Brooklyn Tavern in Columbia, SC, and by this point I'd back trailed in his music and fallen in love.  This is also when I learned of the beauty of his solo material.  Time endured, and I made my way up to DC and so did David.  I saw him again at the 9:30 club, this time playing as part of a band but singing solo material...In other words he was Michael, they were Tito.  Then there was tonight.

Tonight, I saw the most intimate performance of Mr. Bazan.  It was a living room show.  As the name implies, it occurred in a living room on Capitol Hill with about 30 of DC's finest hipsters ready to hear one man and his guitar with only a tiny amp and tapping foot serving as backup.  To give you an idea of exactly how intimate this show was, take a look below:

Those brown things are my feet, that man with the guitar is David Bazan.  Awesome.

Most of the material hailed from the most recent album, Curse your Branches, but there were also songs played from Fewer Moving Pieces and Control.  In his normal style, a cover was also played by Bazan.  Tonight he played Flirted With You All of My Life by the late Vic Chesnutt.  What I love about Bazan covers is that he doesn't just replay the song.  He feels it, makes it his own, and makes you want more.

He also explained the song Options, which is one of my favorites but the lyrics are a bit rough.  Basically it describes feeling trapped in a relationship, and the constant wonder if you're settling and if you should escape.  Here's a taste:

Options | David Bazan | Living Room Show, 5.10.10 from kashiad on Vimeo.


Anyhow, during one of his legendary Q & A parts of the show, someone asked how his wife took the above mentioned song, given its content. His response was that he let his wife in on "the first floor" rather than letting it be a surprise and presented the song and its lyrics to her as a universal theme, with the assurance that he was not going to be the guy that he is singing about.  Also, during another Q & A (yes, another...there were at least 5) things got political.  In his dry, sarcastic humor Bazan mentioned how ironic it was that he was "so close to where they are plotting to take away our freedoms" going on to mention that "people are scary when they think you are trying to take their shit....and they have guns."  Obviously a bit of commentary on the teabaggers and all other ridiculous things that lie within the beltway.

"I got a question," someone belted, "why do you always sing with your eye closed?"  This is something I've also wondered.  He said (as I hypothesized) that he keeps his eyes closed because he does not want to be distracted.  He went on to say that given the intimate nature of a living room show, he keeps his eyes closed to keep from awkwardly staring at one or a few people.  But he comforted us all like little children at story time, telling us that just because his eyes are closed doesn't mean we're forgotten.  The last thing that I thought was interesting from the open forum was that when producing the Headphones album he was shooting for a different sound, in fact he went on to call the Headphones EP "sterile." This shows the beauty of songwriting: you can go in with an idea, but that it usually changes.

Even with an obvious sore throat, Bazan did not disappoint; in fact he impressed me more.  By changing progressions and chord structures he still made these songs work.  At one point, he did forget the lyrics to a song and stopped, says "wait, that's not right...oh yeah!" and continues on.  I loved it.  He essentially did a mash up of two songs-- Harmless Sparks and Fewer Broken Pieces-- from Curse your Branches and Fewer Moving Parts EP, respectfully, moving seamlessly from the harmonic Oooos and Ahhhhs of Harmless Sparks into the loaded first words, "If you make a reference to some trouble that you know,"  of  Fewer Broken Pieces.  I was also moved to hear Curse your Branches "raw" as its sounds incredibly hi-fi and produced on the album (not in a bad way) due to the presence of a full band. Once again and I don't think I can say it enough, something about Bazan's voice hypnotizes you.  Its rich like maple syrup that is cut with a rawness that only years of life experience can bring:


Curse your Branches | David Bazan | Living Room Show, 5.10.10 from kashiad on Vimeo.


One of the songs that signaled the end was How I Remember, a song that I love for the lyric "Red and Yellow, Black and White, they're precious in his sight, but who he roots for in a fight...that's how I remember." I of course have my own interpretation as a listener, but I wonder if that lyric is a nod to David's constant struggle with his faith and how to incorporate it in his life.  Listen up:


How I Remember | David Bazan | Living Room Show, 5.10.10 from kashiad on Vimeo.


Hands down, that was the best $20 I've spent on a show in a very long time, and if you get the chance I encourage you to see David Bazan, preferably in a living room, near you.

*Yes, I took all of the photos and videos so please,  don't steal*

Put it away, pervert.

Playboy is planning to launch a safe for work site called "The Smoking Jacket."  I think you're gross if you can't wait til you get home to see that madness.  We all know its not about the articles, its about the bah-bees (same goes for Hooters...those wings look dry like my hair in summer heat)

That is all.

I knew it was a matter of time!

Finally. Following President Chavez on twitter has paid off.  His latest tweet is:

Ajáaaaa. Qué tal este lunes. Ojalá q bien para todos. Yo ahora voy a taller de trabajo con la delegación China visitante.Alta estrategia!!!

For non-Spanish speakers:

Ah! How's it going this Monday, I hope well for everyone.  Right now I am going to a workshop with the Chinese delegation that is visiting.  Yay Strategy! (Okay Alta estrategia only has a ring in Spanish).

Now for those who don't know, Chavez has been trying to forge this strategic relationship with China for quite some time.  The basis: a) an alternative to the United States with respect to investment, b) Chinese investments in Venezuelan oil exports.

I think this is funny because little birds in the diplomatic and international journalism circles claim that the Chinese dread working with Chavez because he's such a loose cannon.  Should be interesting how this turns out....

PS: Does he really need 200 people to manage twitter...you can only type 140 characters.  Just saying.

Its a Girl!

My favorite New York Housewife, Bethanny Frankel, had a healthy little girl.  At a light 4 lbs 12 oz*, Bryn will be just as fierce as her mom! Congrats!

*Bryn was born a month early, so shut up to all the haters who speculated she dieted during her pregnancy.

Betty White is a superstar, and SNL is barely afloat

As a little girl, I loved staying up to 11 PM, turning to Lifetime, and eating Cheesecake with my grandmother and mother to watch the Golden Girls (obviously, you must have cheesecake while watching the Golden Girls!).  In fact, I still (much to the horror of most people my age) still watch the Golden Girls, as if each episode is new.

As we all know, Betty White played Rose Nylund, the innocent, fumbling, ditzy blonde from St. Olef, Minnesota on the show.  She was one of my favorites because she always threw a curveball that showed people she wasn't as naive as she portrayed herself.

Anyhow, given my love of the Golden Girls, I love love love that Betty White has somehow become a modern day pop culture icon.  Its fabulous, and she doesn't even do nudity (see little girls, you can be famous and keep your damn clothes on). So of course, I had to tune into SNL to see where how they were going to use this lovely woman.  First, I preface this with: I hate SNL, I think it should have died long ago, and the skits aren't funny.  Much to my delight, most of the skits from tonight's show that involved Betty were pretty good...she was the grandmother of McGruder, a chef making and selling 'muffins,' and some random person in the "Weekend Update." (sidenote: wasn't quite sure about the Whitney Houston section of that skit...I thought we were done making lame ass Bobby Brown jokes about her...)  But by far the most heinous use of Betty White was in this Dominican talk show:

Back to the failure that is SNL, I was also really put off by the "Really, Greece?!" section:

I know I'm a global economy nerd and most people don't understand what "budget reductions" mean in the world of global finance.  So I will explain it for those who just repeat the term that hear on the news.  In the global economy "budget reductions" does not refer to reduced government spending as in "waste."  It means cutting social spending, privatizing state owned companies (thus making them crazy unaffordable), devaluing currency, and pandering to international financial institutions and governments as they lend you the money and thus force your already economically troubled country.  Whats's the problem with this you say? Well...most countries that borrow mass amounts of money to "economically recover" are also incredibly corrupt and Greece is no different, in fact corruption is what got the country into its current mess.  Therefore, the Really Greece?! section of this skit was ill informed and in poor taste (in my opinion) since the youth of Greece will be paying off this debt for generations to come. [end rant]

So, SNL sucks, and Betty White is a rockstar...but we all knew that.

Really?!

I quit.  Why is there talk of plugging this oil gush with trash?! My kids may never see a beach at this rate.