Working on it…

This is the temporary home for BTQ until I straighten this mess out.  Thanks for hanging in there.

How are you dealing with the tv writers’ strike?

Now that most network tv shows are running out of new episodes, thanks to the writers’ strike, I’m realizing that I have a lot of free time. I don’t watch as much television as I used to, but there are several shows I watch every week. Or did, that is.

So I have saved up about forty hours’ worth of various shows on my dvr. I wasn’t planning on having a storehouse at first, but I started the season taping a few shows and have just let those build up. I just bought the 30 Rock first season on dvd. (I’ve seen them all, but it was on sale and I’m really looking forward to the commentaries.) And then Amazon.com was running a big sale on the first three seasons of The Wire, so I got that. I haven’t watched The Wire, other than a couple of episodes, but have always been wanting to check it out without trying to jump in on season four.

I didn’t really have a point to all this. But I was curious if anyone had any other suggestions. Apparently, I’m not substituting blogging for tv…yet. We’ll see how long the strike lasts.

Oh, I forgot…

BTQ turned four last week.

Random question after looking at a map of the world

Why has there never been a band called “St. Vincent and the Grenadines“? I picture them as a ’50s doo-wop group.

In Defense of Jessica Simpson

I’ve seen this Macy’s ad a few times now:

It’s a bunch of celebrities, including Martha Stewart, Donald Trump, Emeril, and P. Diddy, decorating a Macy’s store for the holidays. Near the end, Jessica Simpson trips over an electric cord and pulls the plug from the outlet. This act cuts the power and the store goes dark until Jessica, chided by Martha Stewart, realizes her “mistake” and plugs the cord back in.The first couple of times I saw the commercial, I had the expected reaction that Jessica Simpson is such a ditzy clutz, ha-ha-ha. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how stupid it would be to route an entire department store’s power needs — ramped up for the tree and other holiday extras — through a single cord plugged into a standard outlet, without so much as a surge protector. And then, to compound the idiocy, they run the cord across a walking path, essentially inviting exactly the mishap that occurred! It wasn’t Jessica’s fault! I think that bitch Martha set her up.

Is “Happy Holidays” a Promise or a Threat?

If you ever feel a little blue this time of year, you really need to read Megan Seling’s devastatingly awesome essay on depression in The Stranger. In fact, you ought to read it regardless, although I wouldn’t recommend reading it while sitting alone in a restaurant having dinner on a Friday night. It made me want to write about depression, but I couldn’t do it justice after Seling’s piece. Anyway, check it out. And if you find yourself feeling down this winter, feel free to send an email, and we’ll chat. (Because then they’ll know what depression really is? — ed. You’re not helping.)

Book Recommendations?

I recently came into possession of a free book download credit from Audible.com. I know some people don’t like audiobooks, but I don’t mind being read to, especially for free. But I can’t decide what to get. The Audible website isn’t as easy to browse as a book store. And the selection is wide, but not deep. That is, it has a lot of popular books in many genres, but not so many obscure ones. Anyway, your suggestions are most appreciated.

Political Predictions

I asked Sebastian to keep us updated on his political thoughts as the 2008 presidential race progressed. He posted an early assessment of the GOP bunch back in May, and I was very interested in whether those first impressions have changed, or how different things look. We’re a year away from the election, but only a couple of months away from the first primaries, and maybe only three or four months until we know who the nominees are. So I appreciate his new post with his updated thoughts.

I had asked him to predict the eventual tickets from the major parties, and also who, in his eyes, would be the “least bad” Democrat, if one had to get elected, and I look forward to his eventual post on that. This was inspired by a thread at TAPPED a few weeks ago, asking the same question of the GOP candidates. I agree with the consensus (although it wasn’t unanimous) there that Mitt Romney would be the candidate I would be least upset about. Not that I think he’s really some closet liberal or anything, but (a) he doesn’t strike me as the worst kind of demagogue, and (b) he actually has some experience managing a (successful) business and a state government. I just can’t imagine a (shudder) Romney administration would be run like “The Three Stooges Go To Washington.”

Maybe it’s that impression, or maybe it’s wishful thinking (because I don’t think he can win the general election), but to cast my prediction this far in advance, my guess is that the GOP ticket will be Romney-Huckabee. I think Romney will win Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan, Nevada, and South Carolina (maybe), and will look like he has all the momentum in the world. Giuliani’s strategy of waiting until the big state primaries will backfire, and this Kerik indictment business won’t help him, either. Plus, we’re about due for another classic Giuliani moment where he says something crazy. Romney has the money and organization and laser-focus and effort to pull it out, I think. A Huckabee veep pick helps him make some inroads with Protestants and southerners. Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty is another possibility, especially with the convention in the Twin Cities, but Huckabee’s going to be the 2008 version of John Edwards in 2004.

Speaking of, I think the Democratic ticket will be Clinton-Edwards. Hillary will be under some pressure to pick Obama, but I don’t think they’ll be able to stand each other long enough even to be sworn in together. Clinton and Edwards get along well. I recall one of the early debates where the microphones picked them up whispering about how to get rid of the no-shot candidates. Edwards is still young enough to run in 2016 if he gets elected veep, but this is probably his last shot at the White House if he doesn’t. There’s been some buzz around Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, but I can’t imagine him playing second fiddle to Hillary, especially when it still might not win them Virginia. Not that Edwards necessarily picks up his home state, but he can connect with all voters, including Southerners, in a way Hillary can’t. Plus, he shores her up a little with the far(ther) left. And, wouldn’t it be awesome to see Edwards and Huckabee in a vice-presidential debate?

Anyway, we’ll see how right I turn out to be. I’m never good at predictions, so don’t go gambling based on these.