Do you know what you are ??

My feelings for humanity encapsulated in 16 seconds:

Nanu, Nanu, my big white hairy ass

ok, SciFi channel... this time you've gone too far: A James Bond Marathon, followed by a Mork & Mindy marathon... this has to stop. now.

Now, don't get me wrong I loved M&M, am a huge Robin Williams fan, and am pretty much a priapic poster child, whenever Pam Dawber appears on screen.. But neither this or the Bond are SciFi.. not even close... This is even worse than the 3 day Twilight Zone/Outer Limits marathons you guys seem so fond of programming.

Listen, it's called the SciFi channel for a reason, and you guys have to try harder to cater to that niche market segment you originally targeted.. Whoever is in charge here is running this network into the ground.

Mitch Mitchell, RIP

Mitch Mitchell passed away this morning.

He was one of the quartet of great British rock drummers from the 60's, the others being Ringo, Keith Moon and Ginger Baker. As a member of the Jimi Hendrix experience, he provided a perfect foil to Hendrix's guitar playing, being as intense, innovative and original in his playing as Jimi was to his. And without him, Hendrix would not have been as successful.

Mitch will be missed.

Honour the covenant

Even though I really didn't fit into English society, there are certain things about the old country that I still cling to, and Remembrance Sunday symbolizes those things.

Let's be clear.. I am not a knee-jerk jingoist, and I was against the Falklands War. But that doesn't mean I don't fully and unreservedly acknowledge the duty and sacrifice of the people who served in that or other conflicts.

The poet Horace wrote: "Dulce et decorum, est pro patria mori". He had a point.

To all our servicemen and servicewomen, thank you.

The coming Civil War

I don't know whether this will be a Cold War, or something more dangerous, but Prop 8 was the first shot of the first battle of this conflict. For the first time I can remember, the Gay community has basically said enough is enough to the Mormons.

They're combating the LDS in a way I only thought Republicans did, which is to go after them in court. This could be very damaging to the LDS, as they could lose their Tax Exempt status, maybe even going back a few years. The consequence, though, will probably be to galvanize the Christianists to prevent a similar attack on them.

Prop 8 makes one thing clear: the Rollers aren't about freedom to practice their beliefs, but are focused on forcing the rest of society to follow their lead. Things are only going to heat up.

What now Sarah ??

One thing that's clear from post-election examination is that the Republican Party just aligned itself Rightwards, and with a Christianist bent. The Republican ticket became a Palin/McCain ticket, the moment she was selected, and McCain wouldn't have come anywhere this close to Barack without her help in rallying the base.

And she did: 57.2 Million people voted for McCain, more than voted for Bush in the 2000 elections (although W got 62 million in the 2004 elections). To me, 57.2 million voters is a solid base, that in the event of voter dropoff, can win her a Presidential election. If the McCain concession speech is anything to go by, all those people are strongly behind her.

Some commentators have been making the Nixon/Palin comparison, correctly noting that Nixon was considered to be somewhat of a joke in 1962. Her best bet, imho is to position herself for a run in 2016, and to take the intervening time to take control of the Republican Party. However, her success depends on a few things:

1. Making sure that Alaska becomes a well run state, and distance herself from the incompetence and fiscal imprudence of the Bush administration.
2. Make sure her state administration becomes a paragon of virtue, and clean up ethically. Caesar's wife, & all that.
   
3. Develop a coherent policy portfolio, including Energy, Immigration and the Economy. If I were her I'd read up on the Austrian school (like Ron Paul), and use that as the basis of an economic policy.
4. Stay in the public eye, at least to the base. That means going on Rush and the late night shows, and trying to cultivate an image of intelligence.
5. Build a team to start her 2016 campaign now, and make sure those people are loyal to her, and not to others. McCain's big mistake, in this campaign, was hiring Rove's protege Schmitt, and in losing control of his own campaign. If Obama has demonstrated anything in this campaign it's the need for the candidate to be clearly in charge, and to drive the strategy and major tactical decisions of the campaign. Sarah Palin will need to be 1/3 Mother Theresa, 1/3 Feynmann and 1/3 Napoleon.
   

Even in the age of Youtube, rehabilitation is possible: look at Hilary Clinton's revitalization from the election. In any case, Sarah Palin's story is not over, by any stretch of the imagination. And that should be a scary prospect to anyone who is not a Roller.

Sun Tzu...

Amare has a new nickname now.. It looks like the kid is finally growing up, under the tutelage of Shaq Fu himself.

For that reason alone, the trade for Shaq seems to be working out. Clearly, as much as I think of Nash, while he can lead a team into battle, he isn't the kind of leader that can get someone to completely change his attitude away from the court. And because of the racial nature of the NBA, and the players therein, it's helping that the white boy isn't getting the lions' share of the glory, however much he may have deserved it.

It's early, but with the full preseason together, and the spotlight shining away from them, for once, this years Suns have the opportunity to create some real chemistry. This could be a magical year.

Oh Emanuel!

Barack Obama's choice of Rahm Emanuel, as his Chief of Staff, is a very important development, and an early warning to the Republicans, and others, that their usual shenanigans will not be tolerated.

There's an air of Don Vito Corleone about Obama, that I'm starting to like: make the reasonable, mutually beneficial offer up front, and send Luca Brazzi/Rahm Emanuel around when the compromise is rejected out of hand. This new administration is starting to shape up as a group that intends to get a lot of things done, through reason and mutual understanding, where possible, and by coersion where necessary.

Of course, only someone like Barack could get away with such an approach, because he is not a man whose ego is driven either by ideology, the need to humiliate his enemies, or the need to be placated by Ozymandian constructions. This is an administration that is going to move forward relentlessly in increments, making enough small changes, in the right order, so that at the end, a massive change will have occurred. For them, the destination is far more important than the journey.

Shaq and Awe 2.0

This evening, the Suns put a smackdown on the Nets, 114 to 86. What was encouraging was the fact they shot 77% in the 1st half, including 93% in the 2nd quarter (13 of 14). Turnovers, though, are still a problem.

Here's the thing.. the Suns are a rhythm team, and Steve Nash is a rhythm player, depending on timing and everybody moving to the right place on the floor, at the right time, in order to make some plays almost automatic. During the Nash era, it has usually taken the Suns at least 10 games to get into full sync. That the Suns were able to put up this kind of performance, this early in the season, should have the rest of the league watching nervously.

I don't think we've seen the best of the Suns offense, yet this year. In my mind, they're just warming up. This could be really good.

Holy crap!!!

The news networks just called the election for Barack Obama.

For now, this represents the victory of hope over cynicism. Of competence and intelligence, over idiocy and dogma. I'm a little teary eyed about this. The world has just become a better place.

Dear President-Elect Obama. Our hopes and dreams are in now in your hands. Please don't fuck it up.

Big trade between Denver & Detroit

Iverson to Detroit for Billups & McDyess. I don't get it, except for the salary cap thing.

Don't get me wrong.. I'm an Iverson fan, ever since Philly played LA in the finals... not because I think he's a particularly good player, but because he has more heart & moxie than any player in the NBA not named Steve Nash. Still, this means that one team has decided to shut down for the season after two games, because Detroit just traded 2/3 of their mojo.

Oh, before I forget... Rasheed & Iverson on the same team ?? Holy crap!! talk about gangsta!

We live in strange times.