Do you remember that scene in Apocolypse Now where they're in the little boat and the other little boat comes by and Kirk Douglas freaks out and they kill all the Vietnamese people, but then they find puppies in a basket and the audience goes "awwww" at the puppies and are all concerned about the safety of the puppies even though five people just died?

Okay, well, according to a national focus group, this ad by Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund called "Palin's Wildlife Record" has been the most effective in swaying voters of all the ads this election cycle.

Yes, a video that includes dying puppies gets more people to vote for Barack Obama than, say, the failing economy, the housing crisis, the unending war in Iraq, the potential wars with Iran and Russia, national security, the health care system, or the other slew of issues that plague the American people.

Here's the ad:

Random

Has anyone else noticed how all of the sudden Skype has infiltrated day-time television? Everyone from Mary Hart to Oprah has been allowing viewers from random places across the country give their opinions on the episode at various points in the episode via Skype.

This is the lamest, most blatant product placement (can I call it that?), show-momentum killer, just flat out annoying idea ever.

Well, it happened. The Phillies lost 14-8 last night to the Marlins, who have been so adept at beating the Phils this season. This means that we have flipped with the Mets, who won last night, and are now .5 down in the NL East. Ugh.

Brett Myers pitched an awful game, giving up 5 runs in the first inning. He looked like Old Brett Myers, the one Charlie Manuel sent to the minors for a short hiatus in order to get his shit together, instead of the New Brett Myers who has become the most reliable pitcher we've got.

I'm more disappointed than frantic. We are only .5 back. Last year we were 2 back at this point in the season, so it's not impossible. But as any Philly fan will know, it's in clutch situations like these that our teams always seem to blow it. And luckily, we have the Braves and the Nats left, who we have beat regularly this season, whereas the Mets have the Cubs, who have been great this season, especially at Wrigley.

So, buck up, Phils. You still have some phightin to do.


[Associated Press photo]

Too Cute for Words

[Gawker]

McEconomics

[Slate].

Project Runway Dilemma

I'm torn. So watching Project Runway, I'm having trouble hating Kenley. She is opinionated and confident to the point of arrogance. But that's not why I feel like I shouldn't like her; I think those are qualities that can make a very good artist. She's just mean.

Last season, Christian could dole out his fair share of criticisms and snippy comments, but he always made sure that his fellow contestants knew he was kidding. And he never, ever talked back to the judges--he was actually very gracious and humble on the runway. Kenley not only does not shut up when she's on the runway, but she actually laughs at other contestants when they are being criticized. And, as I think we'll see next week, she commits the most heinous of PR crimes: rejecting Tim Gunn. Anyone who watches the show knows that Tim knows best and those that cross him get auffed and look dumb to boot.

So why do I find myself still rooting for her? Every time I watch the show, it's her designs I most look forward to. And when she completes the look and sends it down the runway, I always think they're great. I love her style--I think it's adorable--and I want to wear everything she puts out. I even wanted to go right out and buy a headband with a big read bow on it after she wore one at the beginning of the season. I've also seen her collection at Bryant Park (this is not a spoiler, everyone who is left showed at Fashion Week), and I love it all.

Does this mean that, to me, fashion can transcend all ills? Or that I'm superficial enough to allow fashion to cloud my judgement of someone's character? Um, on second thought, don't actually answer that.

Gawker has a fabulous description of Kenley as That Girl in college that I think is spot-on, as well as pretty comprehensive recap of this week's episode as a whole.

Phils Hold On

So the Phils continue to hold on to the lead in the NL East with a 4-3 win against Atlanta last night. Awesome. Although I am pleased, it's a cautious excitement because the Mets are still only .5 games back.

We were at the Mets game last night here in DC against the Nats. The Amazing Mess won 7-2, which I think was the score when we left at the top of the 8th inning. I love going to Nationals Park because it's a beautiful new stadium, but last night was frustrating. Forget the fact that I was starving and could not seem to get a hot dog and a beer for what seemed like an hour. The difficulty in going to Nats games is that when you're not watching the game (and say, standing in line for a half hour to get a gd hot dog), you can never tell what's going on in the game because more often then not, the loud cheering is for the Away Team. In last night's case, obviously, it was the Mets and god knows I hate nothing more than good luck for the Mets. Oh, I'm totally aware that this very same scenario also applies when the Phillies are in town, and then it's absolutely acceptable that the Phillies fans out-number the Nats fans. I never said I was a reasonable sports fan.

Anyway, since we were at the Nats game, I did not get to see the Phillies game, but I did hear that a certain someone hit a 2-run homer to (maybe) pull him out of his slump. Way to go, Batty.

Also, I'm purposely not talking about this.

Daily Dose

I"ve decided to add a daily feature...The Daily Show. Here's Jon Stewart's opening remarks for those of us who find it oh so difficult to stay awake past 11 pm.

Calm Your Shit, Democrats

Latest poll data from FiveThirtyEight. Obama back on top.

It's the Economy, Stupid: Part II

I said I would try to find some good explanations of what is going on with the financial crisis. The Freakonomics column in the NYT today has a pretty good start.

This, too. From Gawker.

Wake Up Call

[Slate].

McCain, it's Plain, knows nothing about Spain

Um what? I know I'm a bit of a Hispano-centrist when it comes to Europe (it is a magnificent country that I called home for five months), but I think it's pretty important to a) know who the Prime Minister is and b) know that Spain is located in Europe and not Latin America, especially if you are trying to become, oh, the PoUSA.

Talking Points Memo has this story as its front page and Huffington Post has a pretty comprehensive explanation. But basically, in an interview with a Spanish news outlet, John McCain answered questions about meeting with Jose Luis Zapatero, the Spanish Prime Minister, as if he were talking about Hugo Chavez. Here are the excerpts in question (from TPM):

"In case, you haven't seen our updates from last night, yesterday John McCain was interviewed on the Florida affiliate of Spanish radio network Union Radio. And in the interview McCain appeared not to know who the Prime Minister of Spain was and assumed he was some anti-American leftist leader from South America.

After the interviewer presses him a couple times on the point and tries to focus him on the fact that Prime Minister Zapatero isn't from Mexico and isn't a drug lord either McCain comes back at her saying, "All I can tell you is that I have a clear record of working with leaders in the Hemisphere that are friends with us and standing up to those who are not. And that's judged on the basis of the importance of our relationship with Latin America and the entire region."

Then there's a moment of awkward pause before she says. "But what about Europe? I'm talking about the President of Spain."

McCain: "What about me, what?

Interviewer: "Are you willing to meet with him if you're elected president?"

McCain: "I am wiling to meet with any leader who is dedicated to the same principles and philosophy that we are for humans rights, democracy and freedom. And I will stand up to those who do not."

At this point, the interviewer gets tongue-tied presumably because she can't get over McCain not knowing what Spain is."

Read the articles on TPM and HuffPo for analysis of what McCain was doing; some speculate he was just clueless, while others say he sees Spain as an adversary after they pulled troops out of Iraq in 2004.

I just can't wait to read the El Pais to see what they have to say. The Spanish are proud; this insult will not sit well with them.

Pat the Bat, Baby?

Pat Burrell (that hunka-chunka man-meat featured left) is operating in some kind of bizarro world at the moment in which he can't hit for you-know-what. Many would say that's not bizarre, that's just Patty being Patty. But I just had higher hopes for The Bat in a contract year, especially given some of his clutch performances over the summer.

Last night, the Phils won (again, thank god), beating the Braves 6-1, staying put in first place of the NL East, a half game in front of the Mets (who also won). Pat Burrell did little to help the win, though. After striking out 5 times on Tuesday (a franchise record for most strike-outs in a game), Burrell went 1-4 last night. Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer helps but Burrell's troubles in league perspective:

"Entering last night, he was hitting .173 (23 for 133) with four home runs and 12 RBIs in 37 games since Aug. 6. That is the second-worst average in baseball in that span; only Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche (.157) has hit worse.

In his last 19 games, Burrell was hitting just .147 (11 for 75) with one homer and four RBIs since Aug. 25. Only Chicago White Sox outfielder Nick Swisher (.129) has been worse."

Jeez, Pat, what's the deal dude? You can't use your classic pick-up line in bars anymore if you don't follow through with some hitting.

White Privilege and the Election

Tim Wise of The Red Room wrote this piece that was published on Saturday that a friend just brought to my attention. He defines white privilege through specific examples of the current election. Although I think Wise may be stretching certain examples a little far to fit his list, it's a good reminder of what kind of race politics still exist in our own mentalities, why some things might be okay for a white public-figure that we wouldn't consider okay for a public figure of color.

One thing Wise points out that I've been thinking a lot about is what I had considered to be a sense of anti-intellectualism, a subject on which I've been working on an essay of my own. But he adds another dimension to the anti-intellectual mentality that I hadn't considered:

"White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action."

Basically, John McCain finished 894 of a class of 899 at the Naval Academy and Sarah Palin attended four colleges in six years. Barack Obama earned a degree in Political Science at Columbia and then went on to Harvard Law; Joe Biden has degrees in Political Science and History from the University of Delware and a JD from Syracuse. But instead of highlighting the obvious disparity of education on the two sides, we have been taught to see Obama as elitist and "uppity." I don't know about you, but if I were choosing a doctor to do my leg surgery, I would choose the one with the best education, not the one who barely based his boards, but who looks like someone I could have a beer with. Obviously, there are more issues than a candidate's education that come into play when making an educated vote, but I would hope we could choose our president with some of the same reasoning.

I'll be at the hospital bar

I feel the need to address this. Even though I carried a "Beverly Hills 90210" plastic lunchbox in fourth grade, my mom would not allow me to watch the original show back in the day, no matter how much I pleaded because I wanted to be cool. So when the CW announced it was bringing back the show, I was totally psyched and intended to make it my new guilty pleasure, at least until American Idol came back.

However, after a few short moments of the opening episode, I can't bring myself to watch the new 90210 ever again. It has nothing to do with the vapidity of the characters, the blandness of the dialogue, the fact that Shenea Grimes should have stuck with Degrassi (Canadian teenagers are way cooler), or the glorification of gratuitous wealth and privilege.

I can't watch Jessica Walter.

Every time she appears on screen, especially since she usually has a cocktail in hand, I can't help but wish I were watching "Arrested Development" instead. I keep waiting in vain to hear her yell "Gene Parmesean!" or to give the evil drunk eye. This new character is a boring and unfunny version of Lucille Bluth. And now I can never ever watch television again because nothing will ever be better than AD. Thanks, Fox.

It's the Economy, Stupid

If you (like me) are interested in what's going on in the country right now with regard to the financial crisis and, most recently, Lehman Brothers and AIG, but you (like me) don't know anything about economics, an article in the New York Times this morning is a good starting point. David Leonhardt recalls the federal bailout of Chrysler in 1979 and offers some insight into what may and may not work in terms of resolving the current situation.

Also, Thomas Friedman has a piece in the NYT as well that talks a little more about the situation and what the government should do going forward. I really like Friedman as a writer. I think his columns are always insightful and not as abrasive as some of the other NYT Op-Ed writers. This particular piece is no exception.

In the meantime, I'm looking for some resources to help explain a little bit more about what's going on in layman's terms. Economics for dummies, but not. Please let me know if you have any suggestions.

Phillies at Top of NL East (Again) (For Now)

Although Chase Utley is my boyfriend and I will marry him some day, Ryan Howard is my favorite Phillie of the moment. Last night, after putting the Phightin Phils ahead of the Braves with a 2-run homer in the 8th and subsequently returning the Phillies to the top of the NL East, Howard made a statement that proves he understands what it is to be a Philadelphia athlete:

"I'm just trying to do my job.''

Thank you, Ryan. Thank you. As anyone who watches sports with me will know, I have one simple request of my teams: Do Your Job. I think this sentiment is not understood by fans from other cities. They think we Philadelphians are mean, we run our athletes out of the city, we love them and then trash them and sometimes love them again. And I take these evaluations as compliments because it proves how much we care about our teams; we are educated enough to know what good playing looks like and what bad playing looks like. We hold high expectations of our athletes because we know what they are capable of. And we know better than anyone how much money we spend (not to mention time, energy, and tears) on these teams--on the merchandise, on tickets, on mlb.com packages. All we ask in return is that they do what each one of us does every single day: their jobs.

And even though the job of any professional athlete is to win, we will gladly except a good effort. That's why we loved Aaron Rowand last year (I was sad to see him go). That's why the Eagles loss on Monday didn't feel arguably all that terrible (it's never nice to lose to the Cowboys, but we looked great. We would have won were it not for that one fumble). And that's why Ryan Howard makes me so happy in this important last stretch. He may have struck out a lot over the season, but he has played every single game and he's really putting out his best effort when it really counts.

Keep it up Phils. You only have a few weeks to go. Don't let us down.

That's not green screen imaging we can believe in

Ezra Klein posted this video yesterday and it made my day. My friend, Kelly, who is a teacher and needs to be up at ungodly hours, gchatted me that it made hers today as well. So what the hell, I'll try to make yours too.

Obligatory First Post Blah Blah Blah

I've been considering the possible topics for my first post here for a few days now and I've not come to any good conclusions. I started to write some things about antidisestablishmentarianism, but that ever so clever Bill Kristol beat me to it.

But in all seriousness, I feel the need to explain why I'm writing a blog, as if having one in the first place is not narcissistic enough. I'm just hoping to have a place to write because, given the current climate of absurdity, sometimes it's just nice to ground my thoughts in writing and then launch them out into the infinite abyss of the internet. In an effort to quell my growing need to join the national conversation, I recently started posting some things on my favorite blog, Talking Points Memo, and have found the process personally rewarding. So there's that.

I hope the blog will over the next few weeks develop a more refined focus with regard to topic, but my intention right now is just to talk about things I care about, namely: politics, gossip, Philadelphia sports, and my evolving twenty-something life.

Oh and ps: the title is a reference to the word in the English language I hate the most, that is the most overused and misused word. Ever. My thoughts on this topic are best expressed by the amazing David Cross.