Winter Cometh

So the moment that I've been dreading has arrived. It's snowing quite steadily, not heavily but it's a kind of slush for now. It snowed last Saturday but it didn't stay long enough. This downfall may become ice over night and so my girlfriend parked her car into the garage, while my truck is left to fend for itself outside.

Ice? You mean that's different from snow?!?

I shall find out soon enough.

Luckily, it's college football all day featuring some historical rivals such as Alabama v. Auburn, Georgia Tech v. Georgia, and so on.

Back Already?

Yep. Came back yesterday evening and the first thought on my mind was, "Where's our leftovers?" Chilean sea bass in black bean sauce, seafood tofu soup, and dozens of dim sum. Yes, it was a great weekend getaway indeed!

A Much Needed Departure

And off we go to Minneapolis, MN for a much needed getaway from work for the weekend. It's going to be colder but at least I'll be able to enjoy city life even if it is for a few days.

A Change Is Gonna Come

In this corner, we have Sam Cooke's original "A Change Is Gonna Come" in 1964 ...



And in this corner, we have Seal's just released remake ...



This was tough, but sorry Seal. I went with Sam Cooke. Seal's got the smooth voice and a range in power, but the experiences of growing up under Jim Crow and segregation just isn't there. My vote's for Sam Cooke.

Shameless Promotion

Bah ... another attempt ...

49er Faithful

I waited a couple of days before posting this thought, but watching my hometown favorites, the SF 49ers, lose their match against the Cardinals in the last 2 seconds of the game on the 2 yard line from a game winning touchdown, was unbearable to endure. To have a win come so close and then to watch it fall apart ... well ... no words can capture my utter disbelief. And not to mention the fact that I do not receive 49er game coverage because I'm in Iowa so it makes following their season a bit more difficult.

I still have very high hopes for the new interim coach Mike Singletary and offensive coach Mike Mart. I think their championship experience is the start of a new era for a return of 49er supremacy in the NFL.

But not yet.

I do like Singletary's offensive philosophy: a hard hitting aggressive strategy that the 49ers haven't had in a very long time. Under the late Bill Walsh, the "West Coast" offense of finesse was the strategy that propelled the 49ers into victory with Joe Montana, Dwight Clark, Jerry Rice, Steve Young, and Roger Craig leading the way. Likewise, we had a powerful defense with the likes of Ronnie Lott and the infamous Bill Romanowski as the hardest hitters around.

But that time is over. It's Singletary's time and he introduces what the 49ers have sorely needed since those championship days: fearlessness.

The remaining season will still be a tough time, but like the 49er Faithful, we're optimistic that the good times will come again.

Who's House? OUR HOUSE!!!

It's been a very long time since I felt like I was a part of something genuine, just, and true. The last time I felt moved in this was was Jesse Jackson's presidential bid back in the '80s. But I quickly learned what disappointment meant and how frustrating it was to change anything. There were so many years when I thought that change would not, and could not, be possible.

Too many promises broken, and too many battles lost. Too many friends who left, and too many times when I said, "I give up."

But no more! What an incredible night! What a historic victory! On a magnitude and scale that goes far beyond one's hopes, it felt as though the country -- the America that I know -- we drew one collective breath together and exhaled with relief, joy, and then jubilation.

For once I wish I was back in Arlington, VA. I wish I could take the Metro to the McPherson Square exit and run up to the front of the White House to join with hundreds of others who have gathered there for the celebration. And with all my might, I would've yelled at the top of my lungs for everyone to hear, "You're in OUR House now!!!"

UPDATE: Bloody hell. Proposition 8, the California ballot to ban same-sex marriage, is going to win. And the exit polls are revealing that the minority electorate voted in favor of the ban which means once again supporters of same-sex marriage are still unable to take race, the language of marriage, and the historical specificity of immigrant, bicultural experiences as factors.

Mr. President

By way of O.W. at Poplicks.com,

"First Asian Boy"

By way of Angry Asian Man ...

I laughed out so loud that I think my colleagues next door were startled. The tune is catchy, good rhymes, and it's just plain fun.

Settling It Old School

It was bound to happen (by way of Poplicks.com) ...

Meet Joe the Plumber

So last night's final presidential debate was exciting as it was irritating. Exciting in the sense that it's over and according to several polls Obama won it easily. Even McCain's jab at Obama for not running against Bush in 2004 was pretty good. But it was irritating not because of McCain's huff 'n gruff demeanor, but at Joe the Plumber.

Who the hell is Joe the Plumber anyway???

Well apparently the NY Times found out and frankly, I'm not surprised. See the article here.

Joe in the Spotlight
by Larry Rohter and Liz Robbins

One week ago, Joe Wurzelbacher was just another working man living in a modest ranch house near Toledo thinking about how to expand his plumbing business. But when he stopped Senator Barack Obama during a visit to his block this weekend to ask about his taxes, he set himself on a path to being the newest media celebrity — and, like other celebrities, found himself under scrutiny.

Turns out that “Joe the Plumber,” as he became nationally known when Senator John McCain made him a theme at Wednesday night’s third and final presidential debate, may run a plumbing business but he is not a licensed plumber. His full name is Samuel J. Wurzelbacher. And he owes a bit in back taxes.

W...T...F???

What the hell is wrong with these people?!?!?

COLLEGE FOOTBALL!!!

Pioneers 21, Knox 14

Finally! Pioneers win their first home game since the season started. With an overall 3-3 record, the team looks pretty good this year considering they only won one game all season last year. Though I love a winning record, I'm more happy to be at an actual football game with fans, friends, and families cheering the team. It also helps that I have several of my students on the team so there's an added incentive to watch them play. I've made it to every home game and while the loss to Monmouth was devastating (0-69), this win more than makes up the past two losses.

On a side note, I've never tried my hand at sport photography. I purchased a Sigma 70-300mm lens a few weeks ago and it's got a pretty good range, but it lacks automatic focus so I lose a few shots. It's definitely not shooting flowers or landscape.

Did I Just Hear That?

"That one"???

The VP Debates

I watched the VP debates last night with eager anticipation and a measured sense of foreboding. On the one hand, I knew Senator Joseph Biden had a streak of remarks that would get him into some hot water. His comments several months ago that Obama was an "articulate" man was a thinly veiled discourse about race and intelligence. I was worried that he could've become a liability. On the other hand, I was not looking forward to Governor Sarah Palin especially after viewing her interview with Katie Couric. Goodness what a train wreck that was! But I certainly did not want to see it on national stage not because it would've revealed that she was as a political lightweight, or that it would be a huge embarassment on the national stage. It's the fact that if she did perform in the way she bumbled like she did with Katie Couric, then it would've sounded like someone's fingernails scratching on a chalkboard. The excrutiating piercing pain would've been unbearable for me to endure for 90 minutes. In all honesty, I really didn't want to see the debates at all precisley for that reason. But I did, and I'm glad I did for this stellar, and moving, moment of the night ...

One of my dissertation chapters was on the Violence Against Women Act (1994) which was lead and sponsored by Senator Joe Biden. After the failure of including gender in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (1990), Senator Biden took it upon himself to address this glaring omission to a national epidemic of violence against women which was, in his words, "a national tragedy." His office lead and developed a series of reports on the nature and scope of violence against women, and within four years, his Violence Against Women Act was passed, a comprehensive anti-violence legislation that he mentioned in the clip. My chapter on the legislation and his role was a different argument that don't want to reiterate. Let's just say that after last night, and particularly with this moment, I'm rereading Senator Biden and the Violence Against Women Act in a totally different light. Simply put, this moment was Biden's "personal is the political" -- a cornerstone of feminist politics -- and that was a phenomenal step forward and ultimately the highlight of the debate. Now, of course, someone will rightly point out that politics is a spectacle and that every response is a strategic calculation.

But can anyone deny the genuine power and sincerity of Biden's words? Especially if you know his biography and his legislative history?

I do not. And that is what makes Senator Biden such an interesting figure for my research, and as a political figure.

WTF???

This was forwarded by one of my students in my American Studies class. I nearly had a heart attack.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/proudamerican/

http://www.proudamericanfilm.com/pages/PAtrailer.html

All Things Considered

So the $700 billion bail out plan failed yesterday, world markets plunged dramatically, Wall Street today is fighting back, McCain didn't have the knock-out debate, the vice-presidential debates are coming up, and I got to tell ya' ... I'm loving Tina Fey's performance as Governor Sarah Palin on SNL.

David Letterman

A clip from the David Letterman Show where McCain who was scheduled to appear canceled at the last minute to fly back to Washington, DC, to address the economic fallout. Letterman then finds out that McCain didn't quite exactly do what he said and instead showed up at an interview with Katie Couric at the same time of Letterman's show. You just have to love how Letterman handles the whole thing.

For No Other Reason But to Laugh

http://view.break.com/572207 - Watch more free videos

Seriously?!

My advisor sent me a link to an online poll conducted by PBS that asked if Sarah Palin is qualified to be Vice President of the United States. Without hesitation, I checked my response, which was a "NO" in case you're wondering, and the results popped up. I was flabbergasted. At the time of my vote, 51% said she was qualified, and 47% said she wasn't.

WTH???